


Living In Darkness

by kenshi_vakarian7



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon/OC romance, Drama & Romance, F/M, Non-Canon Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 05:23:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 43,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11029521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenshi_vakarian7/pseuds/kenshi_vakarian7
Summary: This is the story about the rogue swordsman Kenshi. His only two goals in life is to be the best swordsman and to slay the sorcerer who tricked him years ago. When he joins Special Forces in order to achieve his goals, he begins to slowly trust those around him for the first time since he could remember.





	1. Prologue - The Katana

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written on ff.net from March 14, 2003 to March 17, 2004 prior to the events of MK: Deception. The story was edited on August 1, 2013.
> 
> For those reading this story for the first time, I started writing this a month after I purchased Deadly Alliance. Getting to know a new character was not easy back in those days, so I took what I could of Kenshi and simply made assumptions. Years later, I realized that I was pretty close.
> 
> If you somehow missed it in the description, this fic involves a Canon/OC pairing! If that's not your thing, turn back now!

A quiet tomb called the House of Pekara became disrupted as two figures entered it. They slowly walked through the labyrinth below the structure, the halls lit with torches hanging on the walls.

The figures, one a young man and the other an old man, moved in a slow pace silently. After a few minutes, they reached a certain spot where a well-like structure was located.

The younger of the two figures stepped towards it and then bended down to his knees. With his blue eyes, he stared at the structure. "So, you say that this sword is in there?"

The old man nodded. "Yes, Kenshi. You will find the sword in that well."

Kenshi looks up at the Chinese man, who was only known as Song. They met back in Japan after Kenshi fought in a gruesome sword battle. Song told him about this sword located in the depths of the sacred Labyrinth of Catacombs in China. At first, Kenshi was not sure about it. He didn't know who this Song guy was and why he was giving him this offer in the first place.

Kenshi's goal in life was to simply be the best swordsman in the world. What made him decide to seek the katana was simply that goal. Song mentioned about a price and Kenshi hoped that the long journey it took to get here would be worth it.

 _'This sword may show more of my status,'_ he thought. So, days after their first meeting, Kenshi met up with Song to seek out the sword.

Kenshi stared at the well. "The covering looks pretty heavy."

"I would help," said Song. "But my strength is not what it used to be."

Kenshi nodded in understanding. Despite having to do it alone, he knew that he could that he could do it. It would take a lot of effort for one person to pry the heavy stone off the well, but Kenshi was willing to do so in order to reach the sword.

Kenshi put his hands to the side of the stone and began to push it off. As he did, he could picture himself winning every sword duel with this new weapon.

After a few minutes, Kenshi finally managed to pry the stone off. As it crashed to the ground, Kenshi peered into the depths. Suddenly, a green blast hit his face causing him to jump back.

It would be the last thing Kenshi would ever see…

The green blast was actually a large group of souls. Song's eyes turn green and the souls were sucked in through his eyes. After the last soul entered his body, Song shape shifted into another human being. Instead of an old, short, bald man, he was a tall, youthful man with long black hair and a goatee.

Kenshi opened his eyes. but could only see darkness in front of him.

 _'Why can't I see?!'_ he thought in panic.

The man laughed darkly. "I thank you for the souls of the Warrior Kings, Kenshi."

Kenshi was confused. "Who are you? What have you done to Song?"

"Song does not exist. I am the sorcerer, Shang Tsung."

Kenshi clenched his teeth in anger. He realized who he was dealing with. "You are the man who steals souls."

Shang laughed darkly again. "I guess you do know me after all. I needed a descendant of the Warrior Kings to open the well and I thank you for that. Like I explained in Japan, there was a price in finding the katana and this was it. I can also see that your irises are no longer visible."

"What?!" Kenshi cried while touching his eyes. They were open, but he was unable to see with them. _'Oh God, I'm blind!'_

Shang chuckled evilly as he took out his own sword. "I will not need you anymore, fool." With one simple stroke, he sliced Kenshi's stomach open just enough to make him bleed out slowly. Blood began to seep out after the impact. Shang laughed once more before departing through a portal he activated, leaving Kenshi behind to die.

Kenshi tried to get up, but the intense pain in his stomach wouldn't allow it. As he lied back down, he tasted the copper tinge of his own blood in his mouth.

 _'I'm blind and I'm injured,'_ he thought. _'Even if I tried, I would never get out of here.'_ Kenshi sighed. He began to wait… wait for death to consume him.

Just a few inches away from his hand was the katana. When the souls emerged out of the labyrinth, the sword flew out with it and onto the floor.

The sword began to glow with a blue aura. Kenshi could hear the humming noise coming out of it, catching his attention. He slowly reached for it and managed to grasp the hilt. The pain in his stomach suddenly dissipated.

 _'What the…'_ Kenshi thought. He then started to sense where the exit was located. Kenshi suddenly became consumed with determination to find it and get out of here. He managed to get himself up, the sword still in hand, and started making his way out.

Ten minutes later, Kenshi could feel the heat of the morning sun blast on to his face. Kenshi realized that he made it out of the House of Pekara.

 _'Now to find a hospital,'_ he thought, knowing that he'll eventually bleed out sooner or later.

As he began to leave and search for medical attention, many thoughts played in his head.

 _'I've betrayed my ancestors but falling for his trickery.'_ Anger began to consume every fiber within him. _'I'll get them back and slay Shang for what he did!' Then he sighed. 'But I'm blind now. How could I do anything about it?'_

He felt the sword in his hand. For some reason, the sword led him out of the depths easily as if he could see. Thinking about his goal and his captured ancestors, Kenshi decided not to let his blindness get in the way, despite knowing that he will most likely be living in darkness for the remainder of his life…


	2. Chapter One - The Rogue Swordsman

_Ten Years Later_

**Japan**

"So… tell me how we found ourselves here."

"Simply put… curiosity."

"I'm not sure if I'm comforted by that."

A trio found themselves amongst the crowd in a small field. All had formed a circle and were looking in at the two people standing in the circle. Both were currently preparing for their duel, their respective swords out and ready for blood. Most of those in the audience were locals, but there were only a few who were from out of the country, including the trio talking to each other.

The three were all in the military currently in civilian clothing; one man and two women. The man was a very muscular African American who stood at six foot three and wore a red beret, a black tank top shirt, and green pants. Both of his arms were fully fitted with cybernetic technology. One woman stood at five foot nine with shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes. She wore a green jacket over a tight gray mid-drift shirt that showed off her well-toned abs, and black leather pants. The other woman stood at five foot five with pin straight dark brown hair, which fell to the middle of her back, and blue eyes. She wore a black jacket over a tight white shirt along with blue, gray, and black fatigue pants.

"You two need to relax," the male said to them.

"Jax, we happened to simply be walking by when this started," said the blond haired woman. "I don't think this is really any of our business."

"I'm with Sonya," said the brunette.

Jax sighed. "You too, Alex? I swear, if we weren't off duty right now, I would have questioned your insubordination."

Sonya playfully jabbed her shoulder at her superior. "No you wouldn't."

Jax grinned. "You're lucky that you're a good soldier."

Alex folded her arms in front of her and feigned hurt. "Well, I hope that applies to me as well."

"Of course," Sonya said with a smile. "You wouldn't have been in the military for as long as you have otherwise."

Their conversation was cut off the moment the weapons for the two swordsmen clashed. Of course, this got the crowd around them going and began cheering and yelling out.

It was almost hard not to notice the one dressed in black and red, especially considering the red blindfold over his eyes. Despite the blindfold, he seemed to have no problem walking around and defending himself from his opponents attacks.

Jax tilted his head in interest. "Hmm, what's with the blindfold?"

"A better way to challenge himself?" Sonya guessed.

"Maybe. You know… we do need some free agents for the Outerworld Investigation Agency. Maybe if the blindfold guy wins, we can recruit him."

"We'll see."

"I didn't realize we were recruiting today," Alex pointed out.

"Better than missing a good opportunity," said Sonya.

"Then again, it is a bit early to do that since we're still building the OIA portal."

"True," said the man. "But I'm thinking the sooner we recruit, the better prepared we'll be when the time comes to travel through the portal."

"Good point."

The brunette turned her attention back to the fight in front of her. The two fighters in the circle were currently in a lock, using their respective swords to lean in against one another while trying to overpower the other. Alex found herself tilting her heard slightly to the side while her eyes gazed at the blindfolded man in the fight.

_It could be because he's possibly blind,_ the woman thought. _If that's the case, he must have very good senses in order to participate in these fights._

The blindfolded man suddenly pulled back before he began to slash his sword rapidly at his opponent, who was forced to back away without being hit.

Jax let out a short whistle. "Man, he's good."

The opponent then attempted to jump forward, but unfortunately for him, it had left him open. The blindfolded warrior immediately stepped aside while swinging his sword sideways and through the opponent's gut. Immediately, the opponent's top half slipped off his hip and both halves had fallen to the ground. Blood pooled onto the ground as his life drained from him. For a moment, no one said anything as the blindfolded man stood straight and placed his sword back in the scabbard behind his back.

"Well, that's a bloody way to end the fight," Alex muttered to herself.

Jax nodded. "If anyone can fight with a blindfold over their eyes like that and win, they definitely have what it takes to be an agent for the OIA."

"Just remember, he has to pass a few tests before he could start serving," said Sonya.

"That's if he accepts the offer," Alex reminded them.

"Well, let's go find our answer right now."

Jax then noticed the mess left behind by the fallen opponent. "Just… watch your step."

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"Sorry, we don't mean to bother," said the male agent. "The three of us here are with Special Forces."

"Special Forces?" asked the swordsman with suspicion his voice. "What do you want with me?"

"We were watching the fight and were very impressed with your skills. My name is Lieutenant Sonya Blade. This is Lieutenant Alex Walker and our CO, Major Jax Briggs."

The man nodded. "Kenshi."

"Nice to meet you, Kenshi," Jax said. "Anyway, Special Forces is always looking out for talent and you definitely have talent."

"We want you in as a free agent," said Sonya. "A free agent is someone who serves under Special Forces but are not restricted under the usual rules and regulations. They also can leave the agency at any time without consequences. Right now we are developing the Outerworld Investigation Agency. We have two others involved in the project; Agent Cyrax and Agent Hsu Hao who is part of the Chinese Secret Military. We're building a portal, which will help us access to every realm outside of our own."

The last sentence caught Kenshi's attention. _A portal with access to every inter-realm?_ he thought. _Maybe I can find Shang that way._ He made a decision then.

"I'll aid you," Kenshi replied with a nod.. "Where is your base?"

"In the US on Long Island," replied Jax. "We will be leaving in a few days."

Kenshi nodded. "Okay. In that case, where do you want me to meet you?"

"We're staying at an international base in Kyoto," Sonya informed him. "We'll make sure you get clearance. We would like for you to come by soon so that we can perform some tests. That way, we can officially declare you fit for duty."

"Not that you need it, but, you know… regulations," Jax said with a grin.

"In that case, I'll come back within the next twenty-four hours."

Jax nodded. "We'll see you then."

From there, Kenshi was able to see two of them takin their leave, but a third stayed behind. He tilted his head in her direction. "Lieutenant Walker?"

Alex looked up at him. "Yes?"

"Is there something you need?"

Alex suddenly cleared her throat, feeling a little embarrassed suddenly. "Sorry, I couldn't help but notice your blindfold."

"It's not for show if that's what you're thinking," Kenshi said a little coolly. "I've been wearing this ever since I went blind."

Alex frowned. "Sorry. I had a feeling you were, but I wasn't sure…"

Kenshi seemed to relax a little. "It's fine. It happened over a decade ago."

Alex nodded. "If anything, with someone with… well, not being able to see, I must admit that you are a very talented swordsman."

Kenshi nodded. "Thank you."

Alex quietly sighed. "Okay. Well, in that case, we'll see you tomorrow."

From there, she turned around and began to head in the direction Jax and Sonya were going. She found herself turning back once and saw him leaving in another direction. She wasn't sure what to think of him yet, only that she was sure that he was going to be a great asset to Special Forces.


	3. Chapter Two - The Agency

_Kenshi could hear shrieks in the distance. He could also see green-colored winds surrounding his vision._

_"Thank you for providing me the souls of the Warrior Kings, Kenshi," he heard the deep voice say. It was followed by an evil laugh. Then, a sword ripped through the green-colored winds, causing it to split in half. Then, he could hear the loud shrieks again from the souls flying around, whispering Kenshi's name._

What is this? _Kenshi asked himself._

_Then, Shang appeared in front of him. Anger immediately consumes the swordsman. "YOU!"_

_Shang laughed darkly. "DIE!" He took out his sword and quickly jabbed it towards Kenshi._

\---

**Special Forces Base, Long Island, NY**

Kenshi sat up quickly as his alarm clock went off. He could feel beads of sweat covering his forehead as his breathed heavily, his body slightly shaking from the dream he just had.

_Why do I have these dreams?_ he thought while rubbing his face with his hands. He reached out for his shrieking alarm clock. It took a moment, but when he found it, he pushed a button and the alarm immediately stopped.

_Eight o'clock,_ he thought, remembering what time he had it set for. He laid back down and wiped the sweat off his forehead. The sun shined through the window of his new room at the Special Forces Headquarters and he could feel the heat of its rays where he laid.

After a few minutes, Kenshi forced himself to get up from his bed and began to get ready for his day. After a hot shower, he dressed in an all-black attire; a t-shirt, slacks, his traveling boots, a short, finger-cut gloves. Then, he grabbed his red blindfold and placed it over his colorless eyes, securing it in a knot behind his head. Then, he took his katana out of his case and slipped it in the scabbard before buckling it around his torso, the sword behind his back. As soon as he released his grasp, his other senses heightened, giving him a better idea of where to go. Then, he was out of the door, locking it behind him.

As he made his way out, Jax happened to emerge out of his own room just a few doors down. After locking the door behind him, he turned and saw the swordsman walking down the hallway.

"Kenshi!" Jax called out while catching up to the new free agent. "How are you settling in?"

"Fine," Kenshi replied. He decided to get right down to business. "So what's the agenda for today?"

"There is going to be a meeting today about the agency. General Simon White will be discussing more about the project. Right now, I'm meeting up with Agent Cyrax for breakfast. Do you want to join us?"

Kenshi was not much of a breakfast person, preferring just a drink whether it was coffee or tea. However, as soon as Jax mentioned it, he could feel his stomach grumbling.

"I suppose," Kenshi answered with a shrug.

The two agents headed towards the cafeteria. Waiting outside was a black and yellow cyborg. "Morning Cyrax," said Jax with a nod.

"Morning," Cyrax said in his robotic tone.

"Agent Cyrax is a robot?" Kenshi asked.

"A cyborg actually," Jax replied. "He was originally an assassin in a group called the Lin Kuei, which is now rumored to be a force for good. Their old leader had started a cyborg program that would eliminate insubordination, and unfortunately, Cyrax was forced into the program, losing his soul in the process. Special Forces were able to restore his soul months ago and he has agreed to help us with the new agency." He looked at Cyrax. "So, what's for breakfast?"

Cyrax shrugged. "I didn't check the menu yet."

"Can cyborgs even eat?" Kenshi asked curiously.

"Yes, we can, but it's only an option."

The three of them walked into the cafeteria. After choosing what they wanted to eat, they walked towards an empty table in the middle of the cafeteria and sat down.

"How is the Black Dragon Investigation?" Cyrax asked.

"We managed to capture everyone," replied Jax. "Well, except Kano of course. Agent Hsu Hao has been a big help with ending the Black Dragon clan once and for all. Needless to say, all we have to do now is capture Kano. Hsu Hao volunteered to help with the new agency as well while we wait on confirmation of Kano's whereabouts."

"I still have a bad feeling about him," Cyrax said. "I feel as though he's up to something."

"You've been saying that ever since he showed up here a few months ago," Jax said.

"What do you think he's up to?" Kenshi asked Cyrax.

Cyrax leaned forward in his chair. "I'm not sure, but I'll try to find out. I've had this feeling ever since he showed up here. I can't explain it, but hopefully I will one of these days."

Jax then decided to change the subject. "Where are Sonya and Alex?"

"I spoke with Sonya this morning," Cyrax replied. "She and Alex headed to the weight room after breakfast. They'll meet with us at the meeting later."

Jax nodded. "Sounds good."

\---

General Simon White stood in front of the six agents.

"The portal is almost complete," White said. "When it is complete, we can finally find out what is going on in Outworld. We received recent Intel that there is something evil lurking there once again. If this is true, Special Forces will prevent it, just like how we prevented Shao Kahn's invasion."

The six agents, Jax, Sonya, Cyrax, Kenshi, Alex, and Hsu Hao, all nodded in agreement.

"Would we go at once?" asked Jax.

"No," White replied. "Jax, Sonya, Hsu Hao, you're the only three with more experiences with investigations. Cyrax, you've only been here for six months, Alex, you've been here for two months, and Kenshi, you've only got here yesterday."

"But sir, didn't we agree that Kenshi would be a free agent?" asked Sonya.

White sighs. "I apologize, I almost forgot about that." He looks at Kenshi. "If we do decide to let you in on the mission, are you sure that you are up to it?"

Kenshi nodded. "Yes, sir."

Alex, who stood next to Kenshi, looked over at him, noticing how he sounded somewhat eager about possibly going to Outworld.

_That's interesting,_ Alex thought in her head. _I didn't think anyone would even want to be assigned to go to Outworld._

When Alex first joined Special Forces as an official agent, Sonya had told her stories about Outworld. Alex herself personally never wanted to go there (though, of course, she would if her superiors asked her to), but with General White's words, she'll most likely not have to worry about it.

"When the portal is ready," White continued. "I think we'll only send one of you out first. God forbid, if anything happens, then we'll send the rest of you in."

Everyone nodded except Hsu Hao. The redness in his pupils glowed with no emotion behind it.

\---

Every once in a while, for as long as he could remember, Kenshi would fall into a mild state of depression. Hours after the meeting, Kenshi lied on his bed, his thoughts drifting to darker times of his past…

Kenshi's mother died when he was just a child and his father met his end in a duel when he was seventeen. Since then, Kenshi traveled where he could, looking for new challenges using the skills he learned growing up. The road had been lonely with hardly any companionship. At times, he wondered if having a companion would have made his situation better.

When he became blind, he had vowed to not let it get in his way. Sometimes though, he became frustrated about not being able to see, especially when he made a mistake when fighting. He also constantly blamed himself for letting Shang Tsung take his ancestors' souls. Even a decade later, he still couldn't believe that he fell for their captor's trickery.

Sometimes, Kenshi felt like giving up, but then he would remember the promise to free his ancestors and continue to better himself. He was willing to keep those promises.

_But then, what would happen afterwards?_ Kenshi thought. Then he let out a sigh. _When my quest is over, I don't have anything else to live for._

Then, he heard someone knock on his door, perplexing him. _Who could that be?_ he thought. He slowly got up and felt his way to the door. The moment his hand grasped on to the knob, he turned it and opened the door, now getting a sense for the person on the other side.

"Kenshi?" he heard a female voice say.

Kenshi recognized the voice. "Alex?"

"Yeah, it's me," Alex replied. "I was walking by and remembered that your room was here. It's almost eight o'clock and I haven't eaten yet. If you haven't had dinner, I was wondering if you'd like to go down to the cafeteria with me."

The moment she finished her sentence, Kenshi could feel his stomach growling. He realized that he hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast.

"All right," Kenshi replied with nod. Closing the door behind him, the two headed down to where the cafeteria was. They were silent, but thoughts played in his head.

_Clearly this woman is curious about me,_ he thought. It wasn't like he was annoyed by her presence or anything… far from it, but the truth was that he wasn't used to people talking to him more than once.

Later, the two of them sat together with their meals in front of them. Alex looked at Kenshi, decided to break the silence between them. "So where do you come from?" she asked with curiosity in her voice.

Kenshi tilted his head to one side, deciding to voice what he thought on the way here. "You seemed to be curious about me ever since yesterday."

Alex looked down at her tray. "If that bothers you, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. You have the right to be curious as long as you don't pry too much into my private life."

Alex tilted her head back up to look at him again. "Okay. Well, in that case… how is it that you are able to fight while, you… well…"

"Blind?" Kenshi answered. "Being politically correct is not necessary around me."

Alex nodded. "All right."

Kenshi continued. "My katana helps me. Its aura guides me with every step and helps me to figure who and where something is. It's also a resting place of the souls of the Warrior Kings. I happen to be a descendent."

"Your sword?" Alex said. "That's interesting. A resting place? It sounds like it serves as a tomb for the Warrior Kings. Do their spirits guide you?"

"You could say that," Kenshi replied. "Only, well, with the exception of the aura that still remains, the spirits are not there anymore."

Alex furrowed her eyebrows in a frown. "Not there? What happened?"

Kenshi sighed. "I... don't want to talk about it."

Alex nodded in understanding. "That's fine. But, well, if you do ever want to talk about it, you're more than welcome to."

For some reason, that took Kenshi aback only because he hadn't heard words like that from anyone in a very long time. "I'll… keep that in mind."

When they were done with dinner, they immediately walked back to Kenshi's room.

"Thank you for joining me for dinner," said Alex.

"You're welcome," Kenshi replied. He moved his hand into his pocket to get out his single key, which led to his room.

"Alex?"

"Yes Kenshi?"

"It's been a while since anyone's bothered to talk to me more than once socially. What's your interest in me?"

Alex felt a bit startled by the question, but she managed to answer. "Well, curiosity aside, since we'll be working side by side for an indefinite amount of time, I'd like to get to know you. Getting to know each other is a good way to earn each others' trust."

Kenshi only answered with a nod.

"Good night," Alex finally said. Then, Kenshi could hear her footsteps walk farther away from him. He stood there for only another moment before entering his room, closing the door behind him.

\----

Alex entered her room and turned on the light. As she began to get ready for bed, she found that, to her astonishment, all she could think about was Kenshi.

_It would be nice if I could earn his trust. He seems lonely._ The last thought startled her. _Alex… you've only known him for a few days! Don't start drifting off to those thoughts!_

Alex sighed a little as she lets herself fall on to her bed. _Yeah… it would be nice to earn his trust… we'll see._

Meanwhile, Kenshi has his own thoughts running through his man.

_She's seems like a nice woman,_ he thought. _When was the last time anyone was willing to earn my trust?_

As he drifted off to sleep, Kenshi realized that he was looking forward to seeing whether or not this woman will indeed earn his trust.


	4. Chapter Three - The Robbery

_Three days later..._

"Just a few more notches!" cried Jax. "Then it will finally be complete."

Jax and the other agents stood in front of an in-ground door a mile away from the main base. Behind the door led to an underground chamber where the man-made portal was located.

"This is great," General White said. "This portal will take us to every realm that exists." Then he turned to Jax. "I'll be choosing you to head this agency. The only order I'll be giving you right now is when this is all ready, send someone to Outworld. I want them to see if there are any activities going on."

"Yes, sir," Jax replied with a salute.

A little while later, Jax returned to the base. Sonya caught up with him the moment she saw him enter the lobby.

"So I heard from the General that you're heading the Outerworld Investigation Agency?" Sonya asked. "Who do you think you'll choose to send to Outworld?"

Jax shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I do know that it's not going to be Alex. She's a good agent so far, but I feel that she needs more experience. Up until she was recruited, she's only had military experience on a more local level."

"I see," Sonya replied. She remembered when she first joined Special Forces. She was a woman in her mid-twenties and wasn't assigned to any good missions until she was accidentally led to the first Mortal Kombat tournament while chasing Kano down.

Then again, Alex wasn't that much younger than Sonya. Alex had some investigation experience before in the military, but not as gruesome as this could be according to her files.

"I don't think I'll choose Hsu Hao either," Jax continued. "I'm starting to agree with Cyrax about having a bad feeling about him."

Sonya folded her arms and raised her eyebrow. "What gives?"

Jax looked out the window. "Well, I've been thinking… while we were working on the Black Dragon, Hsu Hao was always secretive about what he was doing, even though he succeeded in the missions. I have tried talking to him about it before, but he always said that 'it was all part of the plan.' I didn't question him because, after all, he was getting the job done, and as a free agent, he has the right to not answer my questions directly. Now, the more I think about it, the more I start to get this feeling… and Cyrax saw it first."

"It could be a tactic of the Chinese Secret Military for all we know," Sonya guessed. "They don't call it a secret military for nothing."

"I suppose," Jax sighed. "But I still have a bad feeling about him."

Sonya walked over next to him and stares out the window. "What about Kenshi?"

"Not yet," Jax replied. "Although I may change my mind by the time the portal is ready. Cyrax would be a good choice. We did restore his soul and has since been grateful, so he'll probably take the task. He did pledge his loyalty to us after all."

"So Cyrax it is?" Sonya asked.

Jax nodded.

\---

Alex was the only one working out in the weight room. She rapidly delivered a few punches and kicks at the punching bag in the middle of the room. She was trained in both military martial arts like most everyone else here along with a little training of Kajukenbo, something she learned when she was once stationed at a military base in Hawaii in the beginning of her career.

She does this for a while before she decided that she had enough. After giving the punching bag a final kick, she happened to notice Cyrax walking into the weight room.

"Hey Cyrax," Alex said while wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. "What brings you here?"

"Bored out of my mind," Cyrax replied as he headed towards a treadmill. He turned it on and began running at a high pace.

"I see what you mean," Alex replied, knowing that his cybernetics didn't require him to exercise. She then decided to head to the available treadmill next to Cyrax. She turned it on and walked in a fast pace.

"So while you're here," Cyrax said. "What's up with you and Kenshi?"

That caught Alex by surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Hey, I may be a cyborg, but I know a good interaction between two people when I see it! Ever since you guys brought Kenshi here, I've been seeing you two spending more and more time together each day. If I hadn't known better, I'd say something was starting to cook between you two."

"Oh yeah," Alex replied while looking down at his feet. "There's something cooking between those cyborg toes of yours right about now."

Cyrax looked down at his feet. Smoke started coming out from between his toes, so he immediately shut the treadmill off. "Crap, not again." He walked over to a bench, sat down, and began to examine his foot. "It happens every time I go at the fastest speed."

"Maybe you should run at a slower pace for now on," Alex suggested.

That's when both of them sensed another person coming in. They turn towards the entrance and soon got a good look at Kenshi coming in.

"Who's in there?" Kenshi asked sensing people around.

"Cyrax," the cyborg replied. "And Alex."

Kenshi could hear Alex walking on the treadmill. He went over to her and tried not trip over anything at the same time since his senses were currently less enhanced without his sword.

"What brings you here?" Alex asked. Meanwhile, Cyrax watched the both of them with delight.

"Sonya told me that you would be here," Kenshi replied.

"Well, lucky you caught me then because I'm almost done here for the day," Alex said.

Kenshi nodded. "Well, maybe once you're done here, then-"

Suddenly, Alex made a misstep in her walk on the treadmill. Before she knew it, she was flying backwards. 'This is gonna hurt!'

Kenshi sensed what was happening and quickly threw his arms under to catch her. He succeeded as he felt her body fall into his arms. His right arm was around her back, and he had expected his left arm around the back of her knees… but the firm flesh in his left hand indicated to him that they were most definitely not the back of her knees.

"Uh..." Alex managed to say, feeling his hand on her rear.

Kenshi drew in a sharp breath in and quickly slid his arm towards her knees. At this point, Cyrax was down on the ground laughing hysterically.

Kenshi lifted Alex up. "Alex, I'm-"

"It's okay," Alex said with a chuckle. "I know you didn't mean it."

Kenshi finds himself smirking a little. Alex smiled as well, taking note of his smirk. 'If only he could see my smile… ah crap, there I go again with these thoughts!'

"Say," Alex said as a bold idea came to her. "Let's get out of this base. I know of a restaurant downtown we can go to. It'll be my treat."

It was funny because Kenshi had originally come here to suggesting having dinner at the cafeteria… however, Alex's suggestion sounded even better. "All right," he replied before he began walking out the door.

"Um, Kenshi, I can walk." It was followed by an amused giggle.

"Um, Right," Kenshi answered as he realized that he still has Alex in his arms. He gently put her down and they both headed out of the weight room, but not before Alex kicked Cyrax on his side, ending his hysterics.

"Owe!" he gasped.

\---

After dinner, Kenshi and Alex returned to base and headed to Alex's room. Alex found herself wanting to spend a few more minutes with the swordsman and invited him in, which he accepted by simply walking in.

"It's been a while since I went to a restaurant," Kenshi said. "What was the place called again?"

"R & J's Steakhouse," Alex replied taking off her jacket. "Sonya and I discovered it one night when we decided to just go out and pick a random place to eat. We should sit at the bar next time."

"Maybe," Kenshi said with a nod. Deciding to sit down, he chose to sit at the side of her twin bed.

Wanting to keep the conversation going, Alex said the first thing that was on her mind. "So if I remember correctly, you did a lot of traveling for years."

Kenshi nodded. "I've been to a lot of places, yes."

"Do you have a favorite place in particular?"

Kenshi shrugged. "Not really… though, there is once place I… remember it being nice. It's called the House of Pekara."

"House of Pekara?" Alex asked. She walked over to the bed and sat next to him. "Tell me about it."

"Well, it's pretty much abandoned these days, but the structure was quite a sight. It was where I found my sword and… the last place I happened to… see."

Alex leaned over towards him a little. "I'm sorry."

Kenshi shook his head. At the same time, he was able to get a small whiff of the perfume Alex was currently wearing. He never really understood the reason for perfumes other than to conceal foul smells, but whatever Alex had on, it was… nice.

"I don't need pity," he said to her.

Alex cleared her throat, a little taken aback by his comment. "Um, well, that's not… well, it's something that I automatically say sometimes, well, sometimes you just don't know what to say, you know?"

Kenshi sighed a little. "I can understand that."

"I assume you've heard that a lot since you went blind."

He nodded. "I guess it should be expected, but even years later, it can still get under one's skin sometimes." He smirked a little. "But as you may have noticed, it hasn't stopped me from being the best swordsman in the world."

Alex chuckled. "After what I've seen, I can agree with that assessment."

She then remembered something from their last OIA meeting they had. "If you don't mind, can I ask you something?"

"That depends on the question."

Fair enough. "At the OIA meeting, I noticed you seemed… eager to get to Outworld. I usually can imagine others not being too thrilled about going there after what they nearly did to Earthrealm a few years ago. Is there any reason for that?"

For a moment, Kenshi was hesitant about answering that question. However, when he thought about it, the woman sitting next to him has been nothing but kind to him since the day they met. She always seemed curious about him, but at the same, she never pushed him too hard for any more than the words he gave as answers to her questions.

He then chose to be subtle. "Don't get me wrong… I'm grateful for Special Forces' interest in recruiting me as a free agent and being a part of the mission. If they choose me to scout Outworld, that's what I do… but… there's someone who I know who is currently there. There's… business I need to take care of with them."

Alex tilted her head at this, her eyebrows furrowed. "Business… sounds interesting."

"Let's just say it's been a long time coming."

She didn't like the sound of that, but whatever this business he had was about, it sounded personal by the dark tone in his voice. She nodded. "Okay."

"Thanks for taking me out," Kenshi said. "Like I said, it's been a while since I've been to a restaurant."

Alex smirked. "Sure."

From there, Alex thought that he would get up and begin to make his way out the door, but to her surprise, he simply stayed where he was. She also noticed how close his face was to her's.

Kenshi could feel her light breath on his cheek, also realizing how close they were. He found himself swallowing and actually thought - briefly - about closing those few inches between them. Of course, he's been with other women in the past, but now he was trying to remember when was the last time he felt a woman's soft lips on his own.

Kenshi cleared his throat, shaking the thoughts from his head. "Well, I should-"

They both jumped at the same time suddenly as they heard someone bashing on the door with their fist. With a frustrated groan, Alex got up and opened the door. On the other side of it was Jax.

"Jax?" Alex said with confusion.

"Get your gun," Jax ordered. "There's a robbery at a bank."

Alex's eyebrows furrowed when he didn't further elaborate right away. "Sorry to question you, sir, but a robbery? Isn't that a little too light of an operation for us military soldiers?"

"I know, but we got a tip that Kano's involved."

Of course Alex knew who that was and her eyes widened. Still, she managed to straighten herself and saluted him. "Yes, sir."

Then Jax noticed the swordsman in the room. "Kenshi, come with us in case we need backup."

"Right," Kenshi said while getting up.

They made a run towards the exit, but not before Kenshi made a quick stop to get his sword. The three agents then went outside and jumped into a black truck where the other agents were in including. Sonya was already there dressed in her gear and her own gun in hand.

"What makes them think its Kano?" asked Alex.

"One of the witnesses described the metallic implant on his face," said Sonya. "It's Kano for sure."

_This ought to be fun,_ Alex thought. She hoped that Special Forces will finally catch the bastard this time around.

The trucks got to the bank within ten minutes. When the Special Forces got out, they were greeted by the local police, who quickly informed them that Kano managed to escape just minutes ago.

"How could you let him escape?!" Sonya yelled out in anger. "Of all the… ugh!"

Jax turned to the rest of the unit. "Spread out and cover as much ground as possible. He couldn't have gone too far."

With their weapons ready, everyone began to cover the perimeter. Some even began to go into the nearby woods, Alex included. Gun in her hand, she began to walk forward, keeping her eyes peeled on her surroundings.

It wasn't long before Alex noticed a red gleam not too far from her position. She turned it and she briefly thought it was just her imagination… but with the full moon above giving her a better visual, it wasn't all that hard for her to notice the figure turning and beginning to run.

"Freeze!" Alex yelled out. "Special Forces!"

Alex began running through the woods. She ran about two hundred yards before finally catching up with the figure. Making a quickly leap, she managed to tackle him to the ground and attempted to subdue him from there. Getting a good look at his face now, it wasn't hard to recognized the one glowing red eye and the silver metal covering the right side of the face… it was definitely the Black Dragon member, Kano.

"Get off of me, girl!" Kano growled menacingly.

"Yeah right," Alex said in a huff. "Now stop-"

A laser suddenly came out of Kano's right eye and the beam quickly hit Alex's left shoulder and searing through her skin.

"AAAHHHH!" Alex cried out. Reflectively, she jumped back, but because she was at a hill, she suddenly found herself rolling down it, not stopping until she hit the bottom. She tried to get back up, but the intense pain in her shoulder ended up making her cry out and fall back on her knees. She could hear Kano making his escape.

"Damn it!" she growled through clenched teeth. She looked at her wound, noting the blood slowly seeping out of it. 'Well, that's not good.' Trying her best to ignore the pain, she started climbing back up the hill.

A minute later, she could hear someone walking through the woods in her direction. Raising her gun with her good arm, she aimed at whoever was coming, but then stopped herself from cocking the hammer back when she heard a familiar voice call out her name.

"Kenshi!" She called out to get his attention.

Kenshi sensed her location and ran over to her. "What happened?"

"I saw Kano and-" Alex accidentally moved her arm, a sharp pain shooting through her shoulder. Clenching her teeth in frustration, she grabbed onto her shoulder. "Ugh! Bastard shot me in the left shoulder with a damn laser!"

As soon as she said that, Kenshi could smell the scent of blood on her. To think that not even an hour ago, he had smelled the nice, light scent of her perfume while they were talking. "How bad is it?" he asked.

"Well, I'm sure I'm going to need stitches, but I need something to at least stop the bleeding. I don't think he hit anything major, but damn it, it won't stop bleeding."

"I have nothing to clean it with… but…" Without thinking about it, Kenshi took off his crimson blindfold and began to wrap it around the injury.

It took Alex a moment to realize what Kenshi was doing and she found herself gazing up at his eyes. This was the first time she was seeing him without his blindfold on. His eyes were almost completely pale, though she could just make out the blue outline of where his iris and pupils were. She wondered, briefly, what color his eyes used to be before he went blind…

Kenshi could feel her staring at his face. He knew exactly what she was looking at. As he continued to wrap the blindfold, he turned her head away from her, unsure of what she was thinking at this point.

Alex frowned when he turned his head away. When he was done tying the blindfold, she reached her good arm up and placed her hand on his cheek before turning his head so that he was facing her. Underneath her fingers, she felt his jaw tense and she thought he would resist for a moment, but she was surprised in the end that he even let her turn his head at all.

"Hey," Alex said. "The blindfold looks cool and everything, but you look… pretty good without it, too. I like it."

She was rewarded with a small smirk from him. "Let's get you back," Kenshi said. He helped Alex to his feet and the two of them began to head back to where the rest of the unit was.


	5. Chapter Four - The Dance

The next day, Alex laid on her bed recovering from the wound she received from Kano. As she suspected, the wound did need stitches, though not as many as she initially thought. Special Forces had given her a few days off from duty so that she could recover.

Sonya came into the room that morning. "Hey, how are you?" she greeted.

Alex looked at her shoulder. "I'm all right now." The she started to feel a bit of shame as she looked up at her friend. "Sonya, I'm really sorry… I had Kano in my sights and-"

"Don't worry about it," Sonya assured her right away. "Kano got away from me plenty of times in the past. I know it's frustrating, but… don't let it get you down."

Alex nodded.

Sonya sat down in the chair at Alex's desk. "Good thing Kenshi found you when he did. Slowly bleeding to death is definitely not a good way to go.

"Yeah…" Alex replied under her breath.

Sonya tilted her head at that. "Speaking of Kenshi…" Sonya noticed how Alex turned her head to her at mention of his name. The blond-haired woman managed to hold back the sly grin that attempt to develop on her face. She continued. "I've noticed you two have been spending a little time together."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "So? I spend time with you, Jax, and Cyrax all the time. That doesn't really mean anything."

Sonya shrugged. "Okay, you got me there… but what I mean is… Kenshi isn't exactly the most social person in the world. He even declined going to the bar with Jax and a couple of buddies a few days ago. Today, Cyrax told me you two went out for dinner prior to the robbery."

Alex eyed her. "It's like I've told Cyrax… I just want to get to know him."

Sonya nodded. "Sure, I get that. By the way, I thought it was sweet how his used his blindfold to cover the wound on your shoulder."

Alex let out an exasperated sigh. "It was all he had on him to stop the bleeding. I don't know what you're implying, Sonya, but I highly doubt he'd be interested in me like that if that's what you're thinking."

Sonya chuckled, realizing that she was starting to get a rise out of the younger woman. "Okay, okay. Hey, I wanted to mention… the annual Special Forces Ball is planned for next week if you want to go."

"Sounds like fun," Alex said. "You said its next week? I'm sure I'll fully recover by then, though I'm sure I'll have a new scar to show off. What should I wear."

"A gown of sorts," Sonya replied. "The ball is a very formal occasion."

Alex snorted. "I haven't worn a gown since my high school prom. I actually hate them."

"Me too," Sonya agreed. "But it's hard to find a really nice formal wear that comes with pants. Here's a deal… I'll wear a dress if you wear one."

Alex chuckled. "Okay, deal."

Later that afternoon, Kenshi and Jax were playing a game of pool in the Special Forces lodge. Jax hit the white ball, which rolled to the other side of the pool table. It hit a striped blue ball, but it only rolled a few of times before stopping.

"A ball?" Kenshi asked after Jax told him about the yearly Special Forces Ball.

"Yeah," Jax replied. "Unfortunately, it's one of those fancy things where women dress in evening gowns and men wear tuxedos. I can't even fit into the sleeves of the tuxedos because of my arms."

"Um," Kenshi said. "Have you considered taking them off just for the one occasion?"

"Never!" Jax yelled out in defiance. "I have strength because of these! I would never take them off!"

Even blind, it was a though Kenshi was staring right at him. "Whatever you say."

Kenshi aimed the white ball with his pool stick. Then, he hit the ball. Perfectly, the ball rolled towards a solid green ball, hits it, and rolled into a hole in one of the corner holes.

"Any ways," said Jax. "Do you have a tuxedo to wear?"

Kenshi snorted. "With the life I've lived, do you really think I've ever considered getting one?"

Jax chuckled. "Good point. I hate shopping, but I guess we might as well shop for a few new clothes for you and rent you a tuxedo. It's better than going with Sonya, trust me."

Kenshi shrugged. "She seems detail oriented in her work. I imagine she's the same way when it comes to shopping."

Jax laughed. "You have no idea." The Major suddenly grinned. "Heh, but on the bright said, you'll got you the chance to impress Alex."

Kenshi raised an eyebrow from underneath his blindfold. "What do you mean?"

Jax hit the white ball, which rolled around and didn't even hit anything. "Come on, Kenshi. You're around each other every chance the two of you get."

Kenshi swallowed. "Well, she's been nice since we met, but I'm not sure about any more than that."

"You're kidding right?" Jax asked but then he shrugged. "Guess you haven't realized it yet."

"Why haven't I realized?" Kenshi asked aiming the ball.

Jax sighed. "You'll figure it out."

Then, Kenshi hit the ball. The ball hit the remaining solid balls and they all go into the holes. Then, the white ball hit the eight ball and fell into a corner hole.

"You suck!" Jax cried out realizing that Kenshi won the pool game.

"I suck? How could I suck when I won the game? You're the one who sucks!"

Jax laughed. "Okay, okay… well, any ways, just think about it."

"About what?"

"You and Alex."

"...It's not like that."

"Maybe not now, but something tells me it will be." Jax laughed a little bit.

Kenshi sighed as he decided that he was not in the mood to argue about it. "Whatever you say…"

\---

_One week later_

Sitting at her desk in her room, Alex looked at herself through a small mirror. It was the first time in years that she's actually dressed more like a girl instead of her usually tomboyish clothes. This time, she wore a light blue evening gown and wore her dark hair up in a single bun, letting a couple of strands fall down on either side of her face. This was all because tonight is the Special Forces Dinner Ball.

As she waited for Sonya, many thoughts filled her mind. _I really hate dressing up. Why am I dressed up any ways?_ she thought. _Who is it that I'm trying to impress?_

The truth was that the only person she wanted to impress was blind. That thought once again surprised her, but she didn't stop there.

_I wonder what would've happened if Kenshi wasn't blind? Would I attempt to make myself look… better?_

She let out a sigh. Her mother once told her that looks weren't everything and it's what's inside that counted. Sometimes, Alex believed that, and sometimes, she didn't. Tonight, she found herself stuck in between.

_Oh well,_ she thought once more as she decided to push the thoughts out of her head.

Then, she heard the door knock. Alex turned her head towards the door, knowing that it was unlocked. "Come in, Sonya."

The door opened and Sonya stepped into the room. She wore a simple black evening gown and left her shoulder-length blond hair down from her usual ponytail.

"Hey Alex," Sonya said with a smile. "Are you ready?"

Alex stood up from her chair. "Yeah, I'm ready."

As they headed towards the gymnasium where the party was taking place, Alex thought that softer music would be playing, like an orchestra or a jazz band. As she and Sonya reached the ballroom, she was surprised to hear a live DJ playing real dance music.

"Wow," Alex said. "I didn't think that they would play this type of music!"

"Oh we do," Sonya replied. "If not, I don't think there would be any party here at all."

"I see." Alex began to look around the ballroom. Everyone seemed to be having tons of fun; dancing to the music, talking and chatting, and mostly getting drunk. It may have been a formal occasion looks-wise, but the other soldiers in the room had other ideas.

"That's funny," said Sonya. "Usually, Jax would get here first before I would."

"He's probably still trying to get his tuxedo jacket over those bulky arms of his," replied Alex. Sonya laughed at the comment.

Alex turned around and noticed Hsu Hao standing by the punch stand. A chill ran up her spine. He stood there in an eerie way, like he was spying on someone.

_Maybe Jax and Cyrax are right about Hsu Hao being up to something,_ she thought.

Alex turned her head again. She saw Cyrax coming into the ballroom. She almost laughed when she saw that he was wearing a tuxedo with a yellow cumber bum. She walked over to him. "Cyrax, you made it!"

"I never miss a party," Cyrax said. "Where's the bar?"

"Over there," Alex replied pointing to the back corner where the bar was located.

"Thanks Alex." Cyrax began heading over to the bar area.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Can cyborgs get drunk?"

Sonya sighed. "I have a feeling that we'll find out soon enough. Hopefully, he'll be careful," She turned back to Alex. "So what do you want to do?"

Alex turned her head towards the gymnasium entrance. Her suddenly felt her heart flutter a little as she spotted Kenshi coming in with Jax. His dark hair was gelled into little spikes and he wore a black tuxedo with a red cumber bum and a red bow tie. Instead of his blindfold, Kenshi wore black sunglasses over his eyes.

_Jax must've given those to him,_ Alex thought.

"Alex?" Sonya asked waving her hand in front of the brunette's face. Then, Sonya spotted Kenshi and Jax coming up to them. Sonya almost laughed when she saw that Jax ripped the sleeves of his tuxedo showing off his metallic arms.

"There you guys are!" Sonya said. She and Alex began walking over to the two male agents.

"Wow, you actually got here first!" Jax asked in shock.

"Yeah, we got here before you," Sonya answered. "What took so long?"

"Jax didn't want to take off his 'arms,'" said Kenshi. "So after some struggle, he finally ripped the sleeves off."

"I had no choice," Jax deadpanned.

"Well," said Alex. "You could at least have them off just for one night."

Kenshi smirked a little bit as he heard her voice. "Hey, Alex."

Alex smirked. "Hey, Kenshi."

A new song from the DJ started playing then. "So let's get the party started!" Jax cried out and jogged towards the dance floor.

Sonya looked at Kenshi and Alex. "Well, have fun!" Then, she followed Jax to the dance floor.

Alex laughed a little. _Suddenly, I feel like I'm at my prom!_

"So, do you want to get a drink?" asked Kenshi.

"Sure," Alex said. "I'll lead the way."

When they get there, Alex ordered two cups of red wine. Normally, Alex would order a martini or a tequila shot, but tonight, she didn't want to overindulge herself with alcohol.

"So how's the party so far?" Kenshi asked.

Alex shrugged. "It's all right so far. I mean, it's only the beginning."

"True."

"And honestly, it's not my thing, but when your superiors ask you to go, how could I say no?"

The bartender gave them their drinks. Alex took both cups and gave one to Kenshi.

"Hmm, I wonder what kind of toast we can make," Kenshi said.

"Let's see," Alex replied and it didn't take long for her to figure out one. "How about… to our friendship?"

"Okay. To our friendship." Kenshi and Alex tap their cups together and began drinking out of them. Kenshi couldn't understand it in that moment, but for some reason, felt a little disappointed when she said 'friendship.' _Maybe she doesn't like me like that,_ he thought. _The others were just making assumptions anyway._

For two hours, people partied and had fun. Kenshi and Alex spent most of it talking and laughing. After all of the fast-paced songs, a slow song came on. Alex looked over at the swordsman and made a daring decision.

"Have you ever danced before?" Alex asked.

Kenshi swallowed, having a feeling where this was going. "No."

Alex took his hand. "Let this be your first then."

"Um-" Kenshi tried to speak, but then he felt Alex pulled him up from his seat.

"Don't worry," Alex said. "I dance like crap myself. If I remember correctly, when it comes to slow songs like this one, all you really have to do is rock from side to side very slowly while holding your partner."

Alex led Kenshi to the middle dance floor. After stopping, she turned to him before resting her arms on his shoulders. Kenshi wasn't sure what to do with his hands for a moment, but eventually he settled with placing them on either side of her waist.

"This is easier than I thought," Kenshi said after a moment giving Alex a little smile.

"I thought so too.," Alex replied.

For most of the dance, Kenshi listened to the words of the song being played for a bit. He also got a better idea of some of Alex's features… she was shorter than he expected, the top of her head ending just below his chin. Her build was definitely that of an average military woman, soft but well-toned and fit. He could also smell the light scent of the same perfume from the last time he was this close to her.

"You're quiet," Alex whispered.

Kenshi took a deep breath. "I'm just… enjoying this."

Alex smiled. "Glad to hear it."

To his surprise, he could feel Alex bringing her body closer to him. She placed her chin on his shoulder and her hands moved to her upper back. Instinctively, Kenshi wrapped his arms around her more, his own hands resting on the small of her back.

Both of them danced for the rest of the song like this, even when Cyrax ran and screamed across the dance floor, obviously drunk, and knocked a few dancers down. Apparently, cyborgs _can_ get drunk.

Kenshi couldn't remember the last time being intimately close with someone like this in a physical sense. It was always hard for him to trust people ever since he became a swordsman. His lack of trust in people was one of the reasons why he went rogue all those years ago.

Still, would it be so bad to let one person get close to him?


	6. Chapter Five - The Mission Begins

Two days later, General White had announced that the portal for the Outerworld Investigation Agency has finally been completed. They have even tested the portal to see that it's safe for those who enter the portal and that test passed. That day, White called for a meeting, and the six OIA agents reported to him right away.

"As you know," White said. "The portal for the OIA is completed, tested, and ready. Now that it's all set, one of you will be chosen by Jax to go through the portal to Outworld to report any Intel from the realm you can. There has been a rumor as of late that there is a new threat in Outworld that may eventually reach Earth."

"What kind of threat?" asked Sonya.

"That we are not sure about. That is why Jax is choosing one of you to go to Outworld and to report the activities."

"How long do you think this mission will take?" asked Jax.

White was silent for a brief moment before speaking again. "It depends. It could be days, it could be weeks, and it could be months."

The group became silent.

After a minute, White spoke again. "Jax, have you made your decision on who will enter Outworld and investigate or will you need a day to make that decision?"

"Yes, I have already decided," Jax answered. "It took me a few days, but I have chosen Cyrax to go first on this mission."

"I am honored," Cyrax said with elation. "This will my chance to prove my loyalty to you all and pay you back for bringing my soul back."

"Good," said White with a nod. "Cyrax, be prepared because you are going through that portal tonight."

Next to the cyborg, Kenshi could sense Cyrax's excitement, but he couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment. He had hoped that Jax would pick him to go through the portal so he could finally have the chance to finally slay Shang Tsung. The feeling of disappointment and some anger coursed through his veins.

Alex looked at Kenshi with a frown on her face. She knew that he wanted to be the one to go to Outworld to 'visit an old friend. 'What kind of business was it about?' she thought. She could sense a bit of disappointment within him, so she planned to talk to him once the meeting was over.

General White walked over to a cabinet in the meeting room. He opened it revealing two arm panels. "These arm panels will help you keep in contact with us," he explained. "One of these will be placed on your left arm, Cyrax, for when you leave for Outworld tonight."

Five minutes, the meeting was over. Kenshi immediately walked out of the room. Alex didn't hesitate to go after him.

"Kenshi!" she called out once she was in the hallway.

Kenshi stopped in his tracks and slightly turned his head towards her. "What?"

"Is everything all right?" she asked as she caught up to him.

Kenshi frowned a little bit. For once, he wanted to tell her the truth. He's never really talked about what happened ten years ago to anybody before, but he was still not sure if he was ready to tell Alex just yet. After all, he was still trying to learn to trust her.

Instead, he said, "Yeah, everything's all right."

Alex sighed, noticing how strained his voice was when he said it. "It doesn't like it's all right."

"Trust me," Kenshi answered. "I'm fine."

Alex slowly walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "If you want to talk about it-"

"I said I'm fine!" Kenshi shouted. The tone of his voice wasn't too harsh, but it was enough to shut Alex up. Then, he turned and began to walk away. Alex watched him walk down the hallway until he made it to the end of the hall and made a left turn. Alex let out a loud sigh. _I shouldn't have pushed him about it… damn it._

Alex could sense someone from behind her. Thinking that it was Jax or Sonya, Alex turned around. She suddenly stopped mid-turn as she noticed Hsu Hao standing in front of her.

For a brief moment, the two stared at each other. Alex did her best to avoid his reddish eyes.

"Hello Alex," Hsu Hao said in greeting.

Alex swallowed hard. "Um, hi. Um, some meeting we had, huh?"

"Yes it was. This plan may become a success, but… you never know what may happen on this mission." Then, with a knowing look, he passed Alex and walked away.

A shiver ran up her spine. _Okay that was weird… maybe Jax and Cyrax were right about Hsu Hao being up to something after all!_

\---

Later when Alex met up with Jax and Sonya for dinner, she told them about her 'brief meeting' with Hsu Hao.

"I knew it!" Jax shouted. "Hsu Hao is up to something!"

"Calm down, Jax," said Sonya as she folded her arms in front of her. "You're jumping to conclusions! We don't know for sure. It's probably just the way he acts."

"Don't be so sure yourself," Jax replied. "That motherfucker will get his ass kicked if my suspicions are right."

"Just talk to General White," Alex said. "Maybe he'll write up a report and look into it more."

"Maybe." Jax looked down at his tray. "I could do it right now. I think I pretty much lost my appetite after this conversation."

"All right," Alex answered.

As Jax got up, Alex spotted Kenshi slowly walking around the cafeteria with a plate of food on his tray.

Sonya saw him as well. She turned to Alex and smiled at her. "Um, maybe I should go with Jax. Either way, he's about to meet with White while seeing red anyway," She got up taking her tray with her.

"Sonya!" Alex called but Sonya was already too far to hear her.

"Jax, wait!" Sonya cried as she caught up to her Special Forces partner.

Kenshi used his senses to find someplace to sit and eat his dinner. Eventually, he sensed Alex nearby. He felt a bit bad about shouting at her earlier today. Despite not knowing how she felt afterwards, he went over to her table and sat down in front of her. He wasn't surprised when she didn't say anything right away, though he could feel her eyes staring at him.

"Hey," he managed to say.

Alex's had to smile… despite being blind, it always fascinated her how he can figure out where she was. "How did you find me without looking?"

Kenshi smirked. "Lucky guess."

That made Alex chuckle. "Whatever you say."

Then, Kenshi sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry if I was a bit harsh on you before."

"It's okay. I'm the one who should be sorry. I pushed you a little too hard to tell me what's wrong. I guess whatever it was; it's none of my business."

Without thinking about it, Kenshi reached a hand out and placed it over hers. Alex's eyes widened at the gesture because it was something she wasn't expected. She didn't move her hand, but she found that she liked the feeling of his warm, calloused hand on her softer, cooler hand.

"After dinner," Kenshi said quietly as he made a decision. "We'll go to the lodge. There, I'll tell you everything."

Alex's eyes widened more at that. "You know you don't have to-"

"I know… but, well… I realized that I never talked to anyone about this before. I guess now is a good a time as any."

"… Are you're sure?"

Kenshi nodded.

"Okay."

Fifteen minutes later, Kenshi and Alex walked to the lodge area in one of the Special Forces buildings. They sat on one of the couches in front of a fireplace, which was lit. No one else was in the lodge but them which was definitely what they needed right now.

After a brief silence, Kenshi sighed while leaning back on the couch. "I've told you how much I wanted to go to Outworld, right?"

"Yes?"

Kenshi let out another sigh and slightly shook a little. Alex realized that this was something that's not going to be easy to talk about. She reached over to his hand that was resting on his knee and cupped it into hers. "It's all right. Just take your time."

"Well, it's just that, well, as I said in the cafeteria, I've never told anybody about this before. Have you ever heard of the sorcerer, Shang Tsung?"

"Plenty of times," Alex replied. "Sonya and Jax have told me stories about him before."

Kenshi proceeded. "Well, I sort of met up with him ten years ago in Japan after I won a duel. He was disguised as an old man named Song and offered me a katana, but I had to go with him to China where the sword was located. It turned out that it was located underneath the House of Pekara, where my ancestors were buried."

That caught Alex's attention. She remembered Kenshi mentioning the House of Pekara as one of the places he liked visiting and it was no wonder if his ancestors happened to be buried there.

"It was in a well that was covered by a rock," Kenshi continued. "After I took it off, souls flew right out." He tugged his blindfold a little. "There was a curse placed upon the tomb and it left me permanently blinded. Shang took those souls, which are the souls of my ancestors. He left me there to die, but the sword somehow guided me out."

"And from Sonya's reports, Shang now lives in Outworld," Alex replied. "He's the reason why you want to go there."

Kenshi nodded. "Since I became blind, I only have one goal… to redeem myself, slay Shang, and free my ancestors."

_So… that's the kind of business you were talking about,_ Alex thought with a frown.

Kenshi leaned over in his seat. "All I had to do was find access to Outworld. When you, Jax, and Sonya came along and told me about the OIA, I knew that this was my chance. But when Jax chose Cyrax to go to Outworld, I pretty much lost some hope."

"Maybe you'll get another chance," Alex answered. "There are two arm panels available and if Cyrax needs help later, hopefully, Jax will send you out to help him."

"I hope so," Kenshi replied. "Don't forget, he has other candidates too. You, Hsu Hao, Sonya, and even Jax himself."

"Hey there," Alex said with a snort. "I don't think Jax would send me to investigate. I may have been a soldier for a while, but I'm still pretty new to this inter-realm business. Hsu Hao is not exactly the most trustworthy person at the moment, even though he's one of the Chinese Secret Military's best. Jax could make himself go, but since he's the one running the agency, he'll need to stay back and make sure everything is under control. It is possible that Sonya would be sent to Outworld. She has been with Special Forces for years. I'd say that you have a fifty-fifty chance of going. Keep hoping for the best, but expect the worse so that in case this doesn't work out, the disappointment won't be so bad."

Kenshi squeezed her hand a little. "Thank you, Alex. I admit, it's been a while since anyone has given me advice like that."

Alex smirked. "Glad to be of help."

\---

At nine o'clock that night, Jax, Sonya, Kenshi, Alex, Hsu Hao, and General White met in the underground chamber of the Special Forces base. Tonight, Cyrax will be going through the portal to Outworld.

Jax placed the arm panel on Cyrax's left arm. "The green button here will keep you in contact with us," he explained. "And when you need to return to Earth, press this yellow button."

"Gotcha," said Cyrax.

"Do you have everything you need Cyrax?" asked Sonya.

Cyrax pointed to his backpack. "I'm good to go."

"I hate to do this," said General White. "But I need to search through the bag."

"Okay," Cyrax said handing White the backpack.

White opened the backpack and searched through it. "Okay, you have enough food and water to survive for a month, not that you need it… flashlight, batteries, handgun, extra bullets, your Pulse Blade... a bottle of Heineken?!"

"Eh…" Cyrax said as he turned his head between Jax and White. "It's for celebration time if this mission is a success."

"That can wait until you come back to Earth," Jax said taking the bottle away.

"Damn," Cyrax grumbled.

Jax looked at the bottle. _Heh, I'll save this for myself later._

"Well," said White. "Let's get this portal set up. Cyrax, are you sure that you are ready for this?"

"Ready and waiting," Cyrax replied stepping into the portal chamber. The chamber could fit only one person with four corners made out of metal with claw-like points pointing down towards the center. Next to it was a machine, which controlled the portal.

After Cyrax got in, Jax locked the glass door of the chamber and then he turned on the machine. Everyone could hear the humming noise coming out of it.

Kenshi stood there and listened to the noise coming out of the chamber. Although he was still disappointed about not receiving the opportunity to go to Outworld, he started to feel a bit confident about the upcoming mission. He hoped that whatever was going on in Outworld will be taken care of soon.

Alex looked over at Kenshi. She smiled as she saw a tiny smirk on his face. "You seem better now," she whispered to him.

Kenshi tilted his head towards her. "What you said before gave me a bit of confidence about this mission. Hopefully, we can take care of whatever's going on."

"I hope so too," Alex replied.

The humming noise became louder and louder. Everyone jumped when a blue- like energy began to surround Cyrax. No one could see him. When the energy disappeared, Cyrax disappeared with it.

"Let the mission begin," Jax said out loud.


	7. Chapter Six - The Kiss

Three days had passed since Cyrax went through the portal to Outworld. Twice a day, he would contact Special Forces to let them know what's going on. At the moment, nothing was found yet in Outworld, but he would, of course, still continue to scout.

Sonya sat in her office going through some paperwork. Some of it was about the OIA, some it was other cases including Kano. She hadn't seen him since the robbery two weeks ago at the local bank.

 _I wonder if I could try to find Kano again,_ Sonya thought.

She reached her hand to her head and grabbed a lock of her blond hair that fell to one side of her head. The lock was shorter than the rest of her hair. She thought about that one gruesome night that occurred a few years ago...

_The dark clouds covered the sky and the rain fell hard on the tall buildings. On top of a fifty-story building were two people standing in their respective fighting stances. Both were bleeding from the battle that was still going on._

_"It's over Kano! You and I both know that it's over!"_

_Kano spitted blood out of his mouth. "Sonya," he said in his Australian accent. "It's not over... until you're dead!"_

_He ran over to Sonya and threw a punch at her. She blocked the move and attempted to slug him. Kano blocked the move and then got down and performed a sweep-kick knocking Sonya off of her feet._

_Sonya laid there feeling weak from the bloody battle._ I don't think I'll make it, _she thought. She closed her eyes as she began to lose hope._

_Kano reached to his side and took out his butterfly knife. "It ends here, Sonya. I win. You lose."_

_Sonya quickly shook her head._ NO! I can't lose! He killed Agent Sparky, my partner! I can't let him get away with it! __

_Just before Kano raised his knife, Sonya quickly got to her feet. Using all of her strength, she kicked Kano right in the stomach. Kano stumbled back and reached his hand out. He only managed to grab a lock of Sonya's blond hair and pulled it right out from her scalp. Then, he stumbled off of the edge of the building and began to plummet to his death._

_Sonya ignored the sharp pain in her head as she ran over to the edge and watched Kano fall fifty stories. Then, she could hear his bones breaking as he landed hard on the pavement below. For a minute, Sonya stared at him and he didn't move._

_She reached over to her walkie-talkie and turned it on. "This is Agent Sonya Blade. The member of the Black Dragon, Kano, is dead."_

Sonya sighed. It was later that she found out that Kano was alive. Apparently, he was resurrected in Outworld… either that or he somehow survived the fall. Thinking about that made her clench both of her fists in frustration.

 _'I'll get you one day, you bastard,'_ she thought. _'And I'm going to make sure that your death is permanent!'_

\---

A day of exercise, training, and paperwork drained Alex's energy right out of her for the day. It was seven o'clock when she entered her room and collapsed on to her bed. She reached over to her CD remote and turned it on.

She laid her head against her pillow and closed her eyes. She let herself listen to the words of the music playing. Alex indeed enjoyed the soft rock from the band's music. It helped her relax and to forget all of her problems even if it was only temporary.

Just before she fell into a slumber, the emergency alarm suddenly went off startling her. Then, the door burst open and Jax walked in.

Alex looked up at the agent as she sat up from her bed. "Jax! What's going on?"

"Get your gun," Jax said. "There's a gang terrorizing a neighborhood with military grade weapons."

Alex got up, took her gun, and followed Jax out the door. They went into a truck filled with other agents, including Sonya and Kenshi. The van quickly drove off to its destination.

Ten minutes later, they reached the neighborhood. Frightened residents pointed to the location where the gang was.

"Spread out and cover the perimeter!" Jax ordered. "Be careful, everyone!" Everyone went their separate ways.

Kenshi took out his katana and ran down the streets. He could smell the metal of the guns and followed them.

A few minutes later, three members of a gang stepped in front of him. Kenshi stopped on his tracks as he sensed their presences.

"Hey, look at this," one guy said. "What's with the blindfold?"

"Put you guns down," Kenshi demanded. "You're under arrest."

The three men laughed. Then, one of them spoke up, "How can you catch us? Your blind and you have no gun! Let's get him!"

The three of them took their guns out and pulled the triggers immediately. Kenshi used his senses to dodge all of the bullets coming towards him, letting them pass him like it was nothing.

When they ran out of bullets, the three thugs dropped their guns in shock. Kenshi was close enough to deliver a few punches and kicks at them. All of them fell to the ground unconscious.

"That's three down," Kenshi mumbled.

Meanwhile, Alex gazed around the alleys of the neighborhood looking for more thugs. She kept her handgun in front of her.

Briefly, she looked up at the sky. The rain started falling down from the heavy clouds, hitting her face. 'Damn it!' she thought. 'We better catch these thugs before it really pours.'

"Hey there, precious," she heard someone say from behind her. She growled and rolled her eyes as she quickly turned around and faced four thugs.

 _Shit,_ Alex thought knowing that she was outnumbered.

"Put your hands up where I can see them! You're all under arrest!" she called out while pointing her gun at them.

"Oh, come on, sexy," one thug said as he walked towards her, clearly not caring that there was gun pointing right at him. "Put that little toy down. We don't want to hurt you. We just want to play." He walked a little closer to her. "I guarantee that you'll have fun as well."

Alex looked at each thug carefully and she realized that none of them have guns on them. She slipped her gun back into her belt. "Sure, I'll have some fun. I hope you like dancing."

Immediately, she crouched low to the ground and performed a sweep-kick to the thug closer to her. He fell hard on to his side. The three other thugs ran towards her.

Alex performed a backward flip and managed to smack one thug under his chin with her foot. She flipped back a couple of more times. By then, the first thug she knocked down was up on his feet and chasing after her.

When the two thugs were closer, Alex turned her body halfway around and elbowed the third thug in the face. She then quickly extended her leg sending the fourth thug to the wall knocking him out. The third thug grabbed her from behind and the first thug ran closer to her. Alex jumped up and used both of her legs to kick the thug sending him flying back. He hit a pile of garbage pails and was knocked out as well. Then, she grabbed the thug holding her by the arms. She lifted him over her head with all of her strength and threw him to the ground head-first, knocking him out.

"As Jax would say," Alex said grinning. "That's what you get!"

What she didn't know was that the second of the four thugs was still up. He went up to her from behind, grabbed her, pulled her gun out from her belt, and aimed it at her head. _Shit!_ she yelled in her head as she realized her error…

Meanwhile, Kenshi, Sonya, and Jax returned with other agents with the captured thugs.

"I believe that's all of them," said Sonya. "Are all of the agents here?"

Jax looked around and counted. He realized after counting that he was one agent short. Jax turned back to Sonya. "We're missing someone."

Kenshi used his senses to look for Alex. When he couldn't sense her anywhere nearby, he gasped.

"Agent Walker is missing," he informed them.

Sonya quickly turned to him. "Let's go find her."

"I'll find her," Kenshi replied. "You guys take care of everything here."

"I know usually the one who gives out the orders here," Jax said. "But are you sure you don't need our help?"

Kenshi took out his katana and began running down the street.

"I think he's sure," Sonya replied.

Meanwhile, Alex was being held by the thug. He pointed her own gun at her temple and she could feel it's cold steel on her skin. "I wouldn't move if I were you," the thug said.

Alex swallowed hard. She tried to say as calm as possible, but it was hard when your heart was pounding rapidly while trying not to panic. _Oh my God!'_ she thought with terror. _'I'm going to die!'_

"I would've spared your life," the thug continued. "But since you beat the crap out of us, I'll just pop one into your head and end your little life."

Alex heard the gun clicking. She tightly shut her eyes and got herself ready for her death. As she waited, Kenshi came to her mind. _'Oh God!'_

Just a millisecond before the thug pulled the trigger, his hand holding the gun was sliced off by a sword. Alex fell to the ground as the thug was forced to release her and was pulled away from her.

Alex looked up to see what was going on. She saw the thug being pinned against the wall by her Kenshi. Despite being blind, his face seemed to glare right into the thug and his teeth were clenched in what looked like anger.

"This is for trying to kill her!" Kenshi yelled. He pulled back before his swung his sword to the side, cutting through the thug's torso. The thug stood there momentarily in shock before he fell forward and his body split in two.

The rain began to pour down harder, causing the dead thug's blood to slither through the cracks of the streets like a river and going down a nearby sewer drain. From where she fell, Alex began to shake violently not just from the cold, but from the shock of almost being killed and the thug's violent death. It wasn't like she hadn't seen that kind of brutality before, but no matter how many times one saw something like that, it was still hard to get used to.

Kenshi could sense Alex a few feet away. He ran over to her and bended down. "Alex, are you okay?" He wrapped his arm around her and he could feel her body shaking. It was interesting how one's hands could kill someone in one moment, and then be gentle in another…

"I think so," Alex replied. She looked up at him. "I was fighting, but that thug got my gun and..." She shook her head and suddenly started rambling. "Damn it, it was a stupid mistake! You never turn your back on anyone even if they're down! I was sure I was going to die before you came along and I thought I was never going to see you again and-"

She fell quiet the moment Kenshi brought her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her. Comforted by the gesture, Alex threw her arms around his shoulders, returning the embrace.

"It's all right," Kenshi whispered into her ear. "They won't hurt you anymore, not while I'm here."

He held her close to him feeling her damp hair sticking on to his skin. It made him wonder something he never thought he would think about concerning her. _What color is her hair… her eyes? What does her smile look like? These are things I'll never know…_

Alex closed her eyes tightly, refusing to shed the tears that threatened to spill over. What helped more than anything right now was having the swordsman right here in her arms. She suddenly realized how… right this felt.

 _Am I..._ she thought, but before she could finish that thought, Kenshi pulled his head away, though he kept his arms around her.

"You all right?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah… I'm all right," Alex whispered. Then, without thinking about the possible consequences, she leaned her face towards him and pressed her lips against his.

As soon as she felt her lips on his, Kenshi became shocked since it was something he wasn't expecting. For a minute, he was still, not knowing what to do. Then, he decided to relax and returned the kiss. He brought Alex up a little closer to him with his arms, creating a little more passion into the kiss.

Kenshi and Alex kept their kiss going despite the pouring rain coming down hard on them. They both felt the softness of the other's lips and went into a rhythm, slowly opening and closing their mouths.

After a while of this, they both pulled back to catch their breaths. Alex placed a hand on Kenshi's face. "We better get back," she said. "The other agents will be wondering where we are."

"All right," Kenshi said. "Do you, eh, want me to carry you back?"

Alex smiled. It was childish to be carried, but she couldn't resist the call, plus she still felt a little shaken from her near encounter with death. "Sure, why the hell not."

Kenshi smirked as he placed his sword back into its scabbard behind his back. He picked Alex up, one arm under her knee and the other around her upper back, and began carrying her to where the other agents were located. As she let her hero carry her, she let herself place her head on to his shoulder. She smirked as she felt Kenshi lean his head on hers and pressed his lips on to her forehead.

He thought to himself, _It's been far too long since I let anyone get this close._


	8. Chapter Seven - The Closeness

A week passed since the neighborhood terrorists have been captured thanks to the Special Forces agents. Now peace has been brought back to the neighborhood.

Jax said there at his desk in his office of the Special Forces base. He rubbed his eyes with his hands as he thought back on last week's events. He was glad to have captured the terrorizing gang and that the neighborhood is safe. It was when he and the other agents realized that Alex was missing. He could've sent out his squads to search for her, but Kenshi had insisted that he would go look for her and that he and the other agents should take care of the rest of the business that was going on. Jax wanted to protest after a few seconds of thinking, but Kenshi was already on his way to look for Alex.

_Jax and Sonya sent their units back to the base to question all of the gang members who were arrested. Jax and Sonya stayed behind and waited for Kenshi and Alex to return…_

_After what seemed like a long time, Jax was just about to go out to search when Sonya spotted Kenshi emerging from an alley nearby with Alex in his arms._

_The two agents ran over to them. "Alex," said Sonya. "Is she all right?"_

_Alex looked up at her. "I'm all right Sonya. I almost got killed, but I'm all right."_

_"Damn," Jax replied. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"_

_"No, I'm fine, I just need some rest," Alex insisted. She looked up at Kenshi. "Thanks for the ride."_

_"No problem," Kenshi answered and put Alex back on her feet. Alex wobbled a little as soon as Kenshi let her go. He and Jax caught her before she fell._

_"Yeah, you do need some rest," Jax said. "What happened back there?"_

_"One of the men managed to grab my gun and he was just about to kill me," Alex told them. She smiled. "Then Kenshi came and saved me just in time."_

_Jax and Sonya looked at each other. Then Sonya turned back to Alex with a devilish grin. "Anything else happened back there?"_

_Kenshi and Alex both immediately blushed. "Umm…" Kenshi said._

_"We kind of kissed if you want to know that badly," Alex finished while rolling her eyes._

_Jax grinned. "That's cool, just don't show too much affections in front of General White. Fraternization isn't exactly the best thing to do in the military, but at least Kenshi's a free agent so you should be good. And don't worry… you two aren't the only ones who have affections for someone." He turned to Sonya._

_Sonya narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you talking about Johnny Cage again?"_

_"Of course," Jax replied, his grin devilish. "Who else would I be talking about?"_

_"There's nothing going on between us," Sonya insisted with a growl. "Besides, I haven't seen him since our fight against Shinnok."_

_"Well, he's probably looking at himself in the mirror saying, 'I'm beautiful' right now anything," Jax said with a laugh._

_"Ha, ha," Sonya replied with a roll of her eyes._

_"Um," Alex said. "Shouldn't we be going back to the base?"_

_Jax laughed a little. "Hey! It's my job to say that. Sure, let's go."_

Jax smirked to himself from that thought. Then, present time came back to him as he looked down at his paper work.

He leaned back in his chair and stretched out his metal arms back. _I really need a break from this,_ Jax thought. Then, he spotted a folder on the corner of his desk. He knew that it contained records on all the agents involved with the OIA including himself.

Out of boredom, Jax leaned forward, reached for the folder, and brought it towards him. He opened the folder up and immediately saw a picture of him from five years ago, back when he had hair on his head and a small mustache.

_I've got to get that picture changed,_ Jax thought. He looked at his profile. All that needed was a change in his weight.

He flipped the page back and saw Sonya's picture, which was recently updated. Then, he flipped the page again and saw Cyrax's picture. Not too much was revealed about him, like his real name, but it did state that he was from a country in Africa and lived there until he joined the Lin Kuei.

Jax then decided to contact Cyrax since he hasn't heard from him all day. He reached over to his radio and turned it on. "Jax to Cyrax, come in Cyrax."

A second later, he heard a static voice say, "Cyrax here."

"How is the operation currently going?" Jax asked.

"It's quiet where I am right now... too quiet," Cyrax said. "I just woke up from my recharge. I'm in a forest right now."

"A forest?" Jax said, one of his eyebrows arched up. "Isn't that the forest with the-"

"AH!" Cyrax cried out. "A tree just yawned right in front of me!"

"Figured," Jax sighed. "Just stay away from them, they can whip you pretty good with their branches if they don't eat you first."

"Thanks for the warning," Cyrax replied. "Well, I'm signing off now, I'll contact you in a few hours. Cyrax out."

"Later." Jax placed his radio back on the desk. _Too quiet, huh? That's never a good thing._

Jax returned to the records that were lying out in front of him. He picked them up again and flipped the page. Alex's picture was there. He looked at her profiles. She grew up in Florida and was the only daughter of a respected military General. She had enlisted at age twenty-two after attending college and receiving a Bachelor's degree in world history. She had served for ten years before joining Special Forces.

He turned the page again and saw Kenshi's picture. He wasn't surprised at all that most of the facts only say 'unknown,' even his age and origin like Cyrax. Jax guessed that by his complexion, he had to be in his mid- thirties and of Eurasian descent.

He turned the page one more time and saw Hsu Hao's profile. He was a Mongolian man who served in the Chinese Secret Military. He was only here to help the Special Forces eliminate the remaining members of the Black Dragon, but Sonya had insisted that he helped out with the OIA for the current investigation of Outworld since he did well with their last investigation.

Jax shook his head as he closed the folder. He still had a bad feeling about him…

\---

Kenshi flipped through the channels of the TV in the lounge with the remote control after finishing his dinner in the cafeteria. He was surprised that he didn't sense Alex there, but perhaps she had an early dinner or she will have dinner later.

He listened to the TV as he slowly flipped through the channels. Nothing interesting was on so he decided to shut the TV off. That's when he heard someone coming towards him from behind.

"Who's there?" he asked, his head tilted towards the footsteps. A second later, he felt someone touch his shoulders and the person sat next to him on the couch.

Kenshi smirked then. "Alex."

"Hey," Alex replied. "Sorry I wasn't at dinner, I wasn't really hungry. Sonya said I would find you here."

"It's all right," Kenshi said.

He felt Alex wrapping her arms around him sending chills up his spine. "How was your day?"

Kenshi shrugged as he placed his hands on her hips. "A little boring… there hasn't been much excitement all day." He grinned a little. "At least until now."

"Ha, ha," Alex replied as she grinned back.

"We're alone right now, right?" Kenshi asked.

"Yeah."

Kenshi put one of his hands on Alex's face. Then, he leaned towards her and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Alex pulled away. The two ended up lying back on the couch with Alex's head on Kenshi's chest, their arms wrapped around each other.

"It feels like it's been a while since our first kiss," Alex said. "But it's really only a week ago."

"Yeah," Kenshi agreed. He sighed, "I haven't really been close to anyone since my father deceased when I was seventeen."

Alex looked up at him. "Really?"

Kenshi nodded. "I grew up in the country far from the cities in Japan. I was an only child. My mother died when I was an infant so it was my father who raised me. He was the one who taught me the way of the way on top of my Tai Chi and Judo training. I've pretty much been on my own after he died, traveling and working to be the best swordsman."

"I'm an only child too," Alex said. "I grew up in a small town in Florida down south. My father was a General in a military so I never saw him that much growing up. Still, he was the one who inspired me to follow his footsteps with the photos he would show me and all the stories he told me. My mother owned this bakery shop in town and I used to help her out after school. I was in college when my mother died of cancer. My father had a stroke not long after and he eventually died I was twenty-six. His sister, my aunt, is my only family member left. It's funny because I had originally wanted to be a history teacher… even went to college for it, but… things change, you know?"

"Things like that happen sometimes," Kenshi answered. "My father's teachings and his own dedication to swordsmanship was what inspired me to travel the world and be a swordsman myself."

"I see," Alex agreed. They stayed silent for a brief moment, just holding each other and listening to nothing but their rhythmic breathing.

Then, Kenshi said, "Do you want to go in my room?"

"Sure," Alex answered after a few seconds.

They left the lounge and went to Kenshi's room. They talked a little more about family and life. The conversation ended when they began to make out. Later that night, their romance would consummate.

\---

Late that night, Jax and Sonya walked down the hallway towards their room to rest for the night.

"Cyrax should contact me any minute," Jax said.

That's when the radio went off. "Cyrax to Jax, come in."

"Speak of the devil," Sonya said as Jax picked up his radio.

"Jax here."

"Hey," Cyrax said. "Well, I'm almost out of this scary forest, I can finally see a village coming up."

"What have you been doing?" Jax asked. "You've been there since one o'clock Earth time."

"Actually, since midnight Earth time, so I've been there for eleven hours. So I took a recharge time and even ate, sue me," Cyrax laughed.

"As long as you're all right," Jax said.

"Yeah, the scary trees haven't- what the... AAAHHH! SHIT! Get off of me! Get-" Suddenly, the radio was cut off.

"Cyrax?" Sonya cried out.

"Cyrax, are you there?" Jax calmly said into the radio. "Cyrax, this is Major Jax Briggs, do you copy? Cyrax?"

The only reply coming from the radio was silence.


	9. Chapter Eight - The Farewell

The sun shined through the Special Forces windows the next morning. The only noise in the quiet hallway was the sounds of footsteps running. It sounded like it was heading on its way to the men's wing.

Meanwhile, Kenshi could feel the sun's rays hit his face from his bed. _Morning already?_ he asked himself. It was then that he realized that he was holding someone in his arms. He smirked to himself and listened to Alex's rhythmic breathing as she slept peacefully in his arms. He bended his head down to kiss the top of her head.

Alex had just woken up as she felt Kenshi kiss her head. She slightly moved her head upward to look at him.

"Morning," she said, her voice sounding tired.

Kenshi smirked more. "Morning."

Alex leaned to him and lightly kissed Kenshi's lips. Then she pulled away. "Did you sleep well?"

A small smile appeared on Kenshi's face. "It was the best sleep I had in a long. I don't remember the last time I slept like that."

"Same here," Alex replied resting her head next to his. "I think that's how it is the night you, well, have a great night."

"True," Kenshi laughed.

They were just about to kiss again when the door suddenly flew open fast. Jax walked in a couple of feet.

"Kenshi, it's Jax. Get dressed we have a... Alex?"

"Um," Alex managed to say while feeling a bit embarrassed. "Hi?"

Jax stood there in a bit of shock, but he had the decency to turn his head away from the bed. "Eh, sorry if I was interrupting anything, but we're having an emergency meeting right now. Something happened last night. General White will be explaining everything at the meeting room. Um… get dressed." He left feeling a bit awkward. _I should've knocked first like everyone has been telling me,_ he thought. _At least they were under the sheets._

A half hour later, everyone met in the meeting room. General White stood while everyone else sat down.

"What happened last night, General?" asked Alex.

General White spoke. "Blade and Briggs are already aware of the situation. Something happened to Cyrax last night. We tried to get in contact with him, but I think his arm panel has been destroyed. Hell, we don't even know if he's even still alive."

"It sounded like he was being attacked by someone when we were speaking to him late last night," said Jax.

"Could it be those trees in the living forest?" asked Sonya.

"Anything's possible, but I thought I heard a hissing noise before the connection was cut off. That noise didn't sound like trees to me."

"So what do we do now?" asked Kenshi.

General White sighed. "Well, at this point, we don't even know if there are any unusual activities going on in Outworld. Cyrax hasn't really bumped into anything since he left Earth." He sighed again. "The only thing I can do for now is to have Jax send one of you out there to check out any unusual activities in Outworld and search for Cyrax. Hopefully he's still alive."

"Don't worry General," said Hsu Hao. "Cyrax is as tough as metal, literally."

Jax raised an eyebrow after hearing that. During meetings, Hsu Hao wouldn't even make a sound. Pushing that thought out of his head, the Major stood up from his chair.

"Jax," White asked. "Have you decided who it will be?"

"I'm deciding now," Jax replied. He looked at Hsu Hao. _Hell no!_ he immediately thought. He looked over at Alex. She was a good agent but he didn't believe that she was ready to go on an inter-realm assignment. Sonya was his partner and needed her to help out with more of the operations.

After a few minutes Jax finally made his decision. "Kenshi, start your preparations for departure."

Kenshi was shocked to hear his name being called out. Truthfully, he didn't expect to be called upon to go to Outworld at all. _I'm finally going,_ he thought.

Of course, he was going to help find Cyrax as well, but it was a chance for him to finally find Shang and redeem himself, something he has been looking forward to for the last ten years. When he gets there, he would be both a rescue party and spy, once he finds Shang of course.

From where she sat, a small frown appeared on Alex's face. She was happy about Kenshi going to Outworld. She knew that this was something he wanted for a long time, but at the same time, a part of her didn't want him to go knowing that he was about to do something that was dangerous. Worse, it was in another part of the universe.

"You'll be going through the portal in twelve hours," Jax announced.

Alex looked at her watch. It was nine in the morning.

"Speaking of which," said Sonya while standing up. She held what looked like a dog tag necklace and walked over to Kenshi. "Kenshi, everyone involved with Special Forces receive a dog tag to wear with their names on it whether they are soldiers or free agents. This one was made for you."

Kenshi stood up and put his hand out, accepting the tag. "Thanks," he said as Sonya placed the tag in his hand. He held it and brushed the metal with his thumb. He could feel his name engraved on it. Then, he put the jewelry around his neck. "Now I really feel like I'm part of the team."

"Kenshi," said Jax. "You _are_ part of the team."

\---

_Six hours later_

Alex stood next to the large shatter proof windows of the observation deck. From there, she watched the jeeps and fighter jets coming in and out of the base, though she currently wasn't paying much attention to them. Kenshi was stuck in her mind. It was only last night that they showed each other their feelings for one another and now he was leaving to go on a dangerous mission.

_Just when things were going well,_ she thought. _Now this…_

However, she knew that this was something he wanted to do and there was nothing she could do to stop him no matter how much she screamed and shouted. She tried her best to be happy for him, knowing he would want her support.

It was then that she heard footsteps from behind her. She turned around to see the person. Her heart fluttered when she spotted Kenshi walking over to her dressed in his traditional black uniform and red blindfold over his eyes.

"Alex?" Kenshi asked.

Alex fully turned around. "Yeah it's me," she said.

"Sonya told me you would be here," Kenshi said as he walked over to stand next to her. "You've been pretty quiet since the meeting ended."

"I know," Alex replied as she folded her arms in front of her. "I've been doing a lot of thinking all day, that's all."

"It's not about last night is it?" Kenshi asked with a frown.

Alex unfolded her arms before she took his hands into hers. "It's not that at all. Last night was a great night." She looked down. "I… I was thinking about something else."

She could tell just by the shape of Kenshi's lips that he was concerned. He put his arms around her waist. "It's about me leaving tonight, isn't it?"

Alex put her arms around his shoulders. "Yeah… I mean, I'm really happy that you finally have the chance to go. I know it's something that means a lot to you, because this mission will give you the chance to finally accomplish your goal." She sighed a little. "It's just that I… well, maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I have a bad feeling about this mission. After Cyrax, I'm afraid that whatever happened to him is going to happen to you. Don't get me wrong I am worried about Cyrax. I... I just don't want anything to happen to you."

Kenshi gently kissed her forehead. "If you're worried about losing me, don't. You won't lose me," he assured her. "Nothing is going to happen and I'll make sure that I'll come back alive and in one piece."

Alex tilted her head up to him. "Promise?"

Kenshi nodded. "I promise."

\---

_Another six hours later..._

"This is it Agent Kenshi," said General White. "Are you ready for this?"

Kenshi picked up the duffle bag full of the supplies he'll need to survive the journey. "I'm ready."

Everyone but Hsu Hao was there to watch Kenshi go through the portal, which will take him to Outworld. Jax walked over to the swordsman and patted his back. "Take care of yourself. If you need anything, just use your arm panel to contact us."

"All right," said Kenshi.

Sonya walked up to him next. "Good luck, Kenshi. Be safe and find Cyrax for us. If something happens, we'll come out to get you."

"Thank you. I'll be safe."

Alex knew that it was her turn. She walked over to him. Immediately, the two wrapped their arms around each other in an embrace. The room became silent except for the pulsing sound of the machine behind them ready to transport Kenshi to Outworld. The other three in the room stayed quiet in respect.

Alex pulled back and looked at the small, silver chained bracelet around her left wrist. She began to take it off and then placed it on Kenshi's wrist. "This seems silly but… my mother gave me this bracelet just before she died. I want you to take it with you as a good luck charm."

"Thank you," Kenshi said. "I won't take this off until I come back."

Kenshi put his duffle bag down and reached both of his hands to the back of his neck to unclasp the hook of his dog tag. Then, he pushed Alex's dark hair to the side and hooked the jewelry around her neck. Tears began to form in Alex's eyes, but she refused to shed them.

"I'll be coming back for these and for you," Kenshi whispered.

"I won't take this off until you come back," Alex answered. They locked their lips together in a sweet kiss, their arms around each other. Alex wished she could stop him from going, but she couldn't. This was something he had to do.

Kenshi pulled back and cupped her chin with his fingers. "Be brave for me," he whispered. He felt Alex nod. Then, he slowly pulled away from her before picking up his duffle bag. "I'm ready," he announced.

"All right," said White. "Step into the portal."

Kenshi took a deep breath and walked into the portal. Sonya locked the glass door and then Jax turned the machine fully on. Alex watched as the blue energy slowly swirled around Kenshi.

_Be brave for me,_ his voice echoed in her mind. She tightly grasped on to the dog tag around her neck.

The blue energy completed covered Kenshi to the point that no one can see him. When the energy faded, Kenshi was gone.

Alex bowed her head. She wanted to be brave for him, but she soon had the horrible feeling that this was the last time that she would see Kenshi alive.


	10. Chapter Nine - The Bad Feeling

Kenshi felt like he was in mid-air as he was transported from Earth to Outworld. He had his sword in his hand not knowing what will happen once he landed there.

It felt like a long time before he finally felt his feet on the cold ground and sensed the disturbing ki surrounding the atmosphere. Kenshi stood there in his own darkness and tried to sense what's around him other than the ki. He clutched his sword tighter as he sensed terrified souls passing him, all going into the same direction.

_Shang Tsung,_ Kenshi thought while clenching his fist. _He really is here!_

Kenshi knew of the actual reason that he was here… to search for the missing Special Forces agent Cyrax and bring him back home. He would do that while searching for Shang Tsung as well. The last known place Cyrax was at was in the living forest.

He knew that it could possibly take weeks before he would find either of them, but he was willing to fulfill his two duties.

Then, Alex came to his mind. He reached his free hand over to the bracelet Alex had given him just before entering the portal and brought it to his fingers. He felt the cold jewelry on the skin of his fingers.

It was then that he realized another duty to fulfill… to quickly complete this mission in order to get back to her and make her proud.

_Don't worry Alex,_ Kenshi thought as he tilted his head up towards the sky. _I'll be back as soon as I can._

He began to sense the souls again and realized that they were going in the same direction, like they are being attracted to something ahead of them. Kenshi placed his sword back behind him and began following the souls.

Just twenty feet away, a dark shadow stood behind a dead tree. He stared at the blind swordsman for a while before he began walking away. Then, the shadow teleported away.

\---

Back on Earth, Alex looked out the window of the Special Forces cafeteria. In front of her, only little portions of her dinner were eaten. It had been two weeks since Kenshi left for Outworld. She knew that he was all right from all the contacts she and the rest of the agents had with him.

Well, he was all right so far at this point.

Alex was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't realize that Agent Sonya Blade sat down in front of her with her tray of food. "Alex?" the older agent spoke.

Alex shook her head quickly and turned her head towards Sonya. "Oh, hey... I didn't know you were there."

"Deep in thought I see," Sonya replied taking a bite out of her roast beef sandwich. "Don't worry, so far Kenshi is all right from our last report."

"I know," Alex answered. "But I can't help it with this stupid gut feeling at the pit of my stomach."

"Is it the food?" Sonya asked looking down at Alex's barely-eaten dinner.

Alex looked down at her plate. "Oh no, it's not the food, though I did overindulge in vodka shots last night. I'm still working through this hangover."

Sonya eyed her. "That wasn't exactly smart."

"Hey, I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't off duty today."

"Fair enough… so… I'm guessing that the bad feeling is about Kenshi then?"

Alex nodded.

Sonya took another bite out of her sandwich before speaking again. "What is it that's bothering you about Kenshi? I mean I know you know that he's all right."

"Yeah," the brunette agent replied. "I'm just being paranoid really, but since the night Kenshi left for Outworld, I couldn't help but have this bad feeling that it would be the last time that I would ever see him alive."

"Everyone feels like that whenever their loved one leaves for a long period of time," Sonya said. "I once thought I've lost the man I loved once and I was devastated for a while until I found out that he was well and alive."

"Do you still love him?" Alex thought knowing that she was mentioning the famous martial arts actor, Johnny Cage.

"I… guess I do in a way," answered the blond agent. "But in the end, I don't think we're meant for a relationship. I'm always busy trying to fight the forces of evil and protect our world while he's too busy acting in all of these b-movies and acting like he's the biggest hot shot around."

Alex chuckled. "Remember when _Ninja Mime_ came out in theaters? That was probably one of the biggest movie flops in American history and I didn't have to go see it to know that from what I saw in the previews."

"And Cyrax felt that Johnny robbed him of his eight bucks," Sonya mentioned laughing as well.

The two female agents laughed for another second before stopping, both with serious looks on their faces. It was fun getting off the subject for a minute, but it was something that couldn't be avoided, especially when it involved the lives of two agents.

"Other than that," Sonya continued. "You shouldn't worry. Kenshi's smart, not to mention the fact that he has great senses, literally. I'm pretty sure that he'll be fine no matter what happens."

"I hope your right Sonya," Alex said.

It was at that moment that Alex felt her stomach turn in an uncomfortable way.

"Crap!" Alex cried out. "I was wondering when the hangover was going to work its magic." Then, the younger agent stood up and began running out of the cafeteria.

Sonya followed Alex into the woman's bathroom. She stood a few feet away from the stalls as Alex threw up the contents into the toilet. After a minute, Sonya heard the toilet flush and Alex stepped out of the bathroom and slowly walked towards the sink.

"Are you okay?" Sonya asked placing a hand on Alex's back as she washed her mouth out. "You look like you're going to pass out."

"Maybe," Alex said. "Maybe I just need to rest for the remainder of the day or something."

"You should," Sonya agreed. "I imagine being nervous about Kenshi and the mission isn't helping your hangover either. If you happen to still feel like this within the next couple of days, go to the doctor. We need you in top shape."

Alex only answered with a quick nod.

\---

The dark figured entered what looked like a palace. He walked around until he found the main room where all of the operations within the palace took place. There were mummified bodies dressed in rusted armored gear standing on their feet and holding various weapons in their hands. Near the back of the room, a large green energy filled with tortured souls swirled slowly in an upward direction.

The man the shadow was looking for stood with two other people and walked over to him. The man was tall with long black hair and a goatee and wore a red outfit with yellow dragon designs in different places. Behind his back was a straight sword wrapped in its case.

"Shang Tsung," the shadow spoke. "I've come to tell you about my discovery."

Shang Tsung raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Rovno?"

"It seems as though an intruder is out to not only search for another missing agent, but is out to kill you as well. He is a swordsman named Kenshi and he is a spy for Special Forces." He then began to describe Kenshi's features and his wardrobe.

"Special Forces?" Shang Tsung said. "They must know something about the Deadly Alliance." He looked back at Rovno. "Is there any other important information about this spy?"

"No," the shadow replied. "Except that his current location is far at the moment."

"Thank you, Rovno," Shang Tsung finally said. "It's good to have a teleporter and a mind reader on our team. You may go now until I give you your next orders."

Rovno bowed to the sorcerer before teleporting away.

_Kenshi, huh?_ Shang Tsung thought. _Why does that name seem so familiar?_

An extremely pale man turned to the sorcerer. "What do we do now, Shang Tsung?"

Shang Tsung turned his head to the man. "I think you know what orders to give to our friend here, Quan Chi." The sorcerer turned his head to the Asian man with them. "Mavado, any word on Hsu Hao yet?"

"He is still awaiting orders back at the Special Forces base," Mavado replied.

"They must have a portal on their base," Shang said. "Tell Hsu Hao to destroy it and report back to Outworld."

Mavado nodded as Shang Tsung left the room.

Quan Chi turned to Mavado. "I have a gift for you, Mavado. You know about Kano being alive now, yes?"

Mavado only growled in response. He and Kano have been rivals for years considering that Mavado's mission as a Red Dragon member was to eliminate every remaining member of the Black Dragon clan. Kano was the last known member.

Quan Chi continued. "Since Kano is working alongside with Shang Tsung, I will give you the opportunity to fight Kano in a battle to the death."

"Thank you, Quan Chi," Mavado replied. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this opportunity."

"Not so fast," Quan-Chi said. "Before you have your battle with Kano, I need you to complete a task."

"Anything."

Quan Chi smirked. "Shang Tsung and I do not tolerate people invading our plans to conquer Outworld and soon Earthrealm. Shang Tsung has given me a hint to have you do one thing for us."

Mavado stared at the sorcerer, awaiting his orders.

"You must eliminate the swordsman."


	11. Chapter Ten - The Destruction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ask that you keep an open mind through this chapter and the next. At the end of the next chapter, I'll will proceed to explain why I made the decision I made near the end of this particular chapter.

The souls seemed to fly by in high speed, but they weren't too fast for Kenshi to catch their exact direction. Kenshi kept following the terrified souls and stopped for nothing with the exception of basic needs.

It had been three weeks since he started following the souls. He was not sure exactly where these souls were heading, but he was pretty sure that Shang Tsung himself was somehow forcing them towards him so that he could consume them and keep them for himself to maintain his own youth.

Hopefully, the swordsman was right.

At the same time, he searched for the missing Special Forces Agent, Cyrax. Back on Earth, Jax had not received any word from Cyrax. He and Kenshi had kept in contact throughout the last couple of weeks, Earth time.

In that moment, he heard a new communication from his arm panel. "How's it going out there?" Jax asked him.

Kenshi could hear Jax voice on his arm panel and brought his left arm up to speak into it. "It's pretty quiet around here at the moment, except for these souls I'm following."

"Quiet?" Jax sighed. "That's what Cyrax said before we lost contact with him. You say that you're following souls?"

"Yeah," Kenshi replied. "It's like they're being attracted to something, like a moth to a flame."

"Maybe this is finally our lead to what may be going on out there," Jax concluded. "Keep your senses as sharp as possible."

"That won't be a problem," Kenshi answered.

"Any clues on Cyrax yet?"

"Not yet. I haven't noticed anything about why he went missing as of now."

"It's possible that the two of you may have taken different paths. After all, Outworld is one huge place."

"You can say that again." It was then that Kenshi sighed a bit. "Jax?"

"Yeah?"

"How's Alex?"

"She's doing better," Jax replied. "The first time you left, she was pretty down, but she's improving. I think as long as you're all right, she'll be all right. I'm sorry that you haven't been able to speak to her all that much. It's just that the General only wants me to keep in contact with you. I wish I could connect you to her now, but I could lose my job."

"It's all right," Kenshi sighed with disappointment. "As long as you tell me that's she is okay, it at least makes me feel better."

"True," Jax agreed. "Well, I'll be signing off now. I'm going to work out for a little bit and then get some paperwork done. I'll get in contact with you as soon as I'm done. Jax out."

"Later." Kenshi brought his arm back to his side. Then, for the first time in hours, he stopped in his tracks. He began to sense something disturbing other than the souls. He used his senses to figure out what it was. After a while, he sighed to himself.

 _This is probably how the environment is,_ Kenshi thought. Then, he began walking forward again.

\---

After a whole hour of working out, Jax stretched his arms out. He got up and walked towards the benches where his towel and water bottle were. He whipped the sweat off of his face, and then took a sip out of his water bottle.

 _Nothing's better than an hour of working out,_ Jax thought with a small smirk.

After a quick shower, Jax got dressed in blue jeans, black boots, a white T- shirt, and of course his cybernetic arms. Although he had a load of paperwork to do, Jax decided to take a few minutes off to get some fresh air. He walked outside and sat on a bench. Since it was near dinnertime, most of the jets began to land back in after a whole day of flying.

 _It's been a while since I flew,_ Jax thought. _Maybe I should get back into it as soon as this investigation's over._

It was then that both Kenshi and Alex came to his mind. He smirked to himself thinking about the couple who were only together for a week before Kenshi left for Outworld.

 _They sure have something special between them,_ Jax thought. He knew even before they hooked up that the both of them had strong feelings for one another, but neither of them realized it. Before Kenshi left, he remembered the swordsman's words...

_It was three hours before Kenshi would leave for Outworld. Jax was helping him pack up the things the swordsman would need for his mission._

_"Here's a flashlight," Jax said._

_"Jax," Kenshi replied with a small smile. "I think you and I both know that I won't need that."_

_"Oh, right! Sorry about that, I forget that you're blind sometimes."_

_"It's all right. With my strong senses, it doesn't seem like I'm blind at all."_

_"True," Jax agreed. "Hey Kenshi."_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Good luck."_

_"Thanks," Kenshi answered. "Hopefully this will be over before we know it."_

_"Same here. I'm getting sick of those Outworld bastards," Jax laughed._

_Kenshi laughed a little bit too, but them the smile disappeared. Even with his blindfold covering half of his face, Jax knew that Kenshi's face was a serious one._

_"Jax, you could promise me something?" Kenshi asked._

_"Sure," Jax said._

_Kenshi sighed. "Could you promise to make sure Alex is all right while I'm one?"_

_Jax patted the swordsman's shoulder. "That's a promise I can keep. You can count on me, man."_

_"Thanks," Kenshi replied with a small smirk._

Jax smirked to himself. It was a promise that he still has kept. After all, Alex was still well and alive.

The Special Forces major got up from the bench. He was about to go back into the main building when he looked over at the door, which lead to the Outerworld Investigation Agency's portal. He noticed a figure entering the room and going down the stars.

 _What the..._ Jax thought. He began running towards the door, which was about a half a mile from where he was from. After a three minute run, he made his way to the door.

He quickly opened it and jogged down the stairs. He could hear that the machine was somehow operating the portal. Jax raised an eyebrow.

Only he and Sonya knew how to turn on the portal.

"Who's down here?!" Jax demanded as he made his way to the bottom of the steps. It was then that he noticed Hsu Hao's face just a split second before the blue swirls engulfed him.

"HEY!" Jax yelled out, but it was too late. The swirls disappeared along with Hsu Hao.

"Damn!" Jax growled. He walked over to the operators when he suddenly noticed a small item on top of the machine which read off, '00:00:08.'

 _Shit!_ Jax cried in his mind. _It's a bomb!_

He had eight seconds before the small bomb would explode. The bomb was a type that was only enough to destroy just the building itself and a few feet around it.

Not having enough time to operate the portal and go after Hsu Hao, Jax did the only thing he could. He quickly turned towards the stairs and began running with all he had out of the building.

\---

Alex sat at her desk in her room and starred out the window. She was feeling a heavy anxiety on her shoulders, but for once, it had nothing to do with Kenshi being gone… or… in a way it did.

It was then that someone knocked on the door. "Alex?"

"Come in," Alex replied as she recognized Sonya's voice. The blond agent walked in slowly, closing the door behind her. She sat on Alex's desk.

"Is everything all right?" Sonya asked with concern. "You did get the report from Jax this afternoon that Kenshi's still all right."

"I did," Alex answered. She took a deep breath a shiver went up her spine. "It's not the only thing that's bothering me at the moment either."

"What are you talking about?" Sonya asked. She knew that the only thing that would be bothering the younger agent was the bad feeling of losing the man she developed feelings for.

"Please tell me Alex," Sonya said again after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

Alex slowly stood up from her chair. She took another deep breath before she looked straight into Sonya's eyes. "I went to the doctor a couple of days ago. That hangover I had last week lasted longer than I thought."

Sonya frowned. "I hadn't realized. No wonder you took a few days leave."

She then noticed the tears brimming in Alex's eyes, but the younger woman refused to shed them. "Well, that leave is going to be a lot longer now. I've already talked to General White. I'll still be able to work within the base, but I won't be going on missions any time soon."

Sonya gasped, not liking what she was hearing. She began to dread the reason for Alex's extended leave. "Why?"

Alex seemed hesitant for a moment, but she eventually took a deep breath and just spit her words out. "Sonya, I'm pregnant."

A mix of both shock and relief came over Sonya as she got up from the desk. "W-What?"

Just before either woman could say anything, a loud explosion was suddenly heard from outside.

"Shit!" Sonya cried out. She took her gun out and began running out of the room with Alex trailing behind with her own gun out. Many of the agents began running out of their rooms and ran outside. A large fire was burning one of the buildings.

"Oh my God!" Sonya said. "That's the OIA building!"

"Jax!" Alex cried out. She noticed the tall agent wobbling away from the rubble, his shirt and pants patched with burned holes. Both female agents sprinted towards him. Just before his collapsed, Sonya caught Jax in her arms.

"Hang on big fella," Sonya said. She looked at him and saw only a few minor burns on the agent.

"It was that bastard Hsu Hao!" Jax yelled in between his coughing fit. "He blew up our only portal access! I told you there was something up with him!"

"Don't talk," Sonya suggested. "Let's get you some medical attention and then we'll talk about this."

Alex found herself staring at the burning building in front of her. With a hand over her stomach, fear, anger, and sadness filled her heart and unshed tears filled her eyes. The OIA's building, which held Earth's only portal, was destroyed…and it meant the one thing that Alex feared most.

Kenshi was lost in Outworld.


	12. Chapter Eleven - The Thunder God

Agents Jax Briggs, Sonya Blade, and Alex Walker stood in front of General Simon White's desk in silence. White slowly paced around a little with a small frown on his face. Frowns appeared on the other agents' faces as well, especially Alex's as she stared down at the ground despite standing in a parade rest like the others.

It had been two days since the destruction of the Outerworld Investigation Agency's portal, all thanks to the traitor, Hsu Hao. Special Forces had easily trusted him and had even named him one of the best free agents in the force.

Now they've learned that even the best people in the unit can end up being their worst agents.

A while back, units of Special Forces had destroyed every inter-realm portal known to exist on Earth and the only portal that existed was the one made by the OIA.

But now that was gone.

The worst part of losing the portal was the fact that two of Special Forces' agents were now lost in Outworld; Agent Kenshi and Agent Cyrax.

General White looked at the three soldiers in front of him. "This was completely unexpected. We've had suspicions of Hsu Hao for quite some time, but we've never really took it seriously. This was my fault… we should've looked further into this…"

"No it wasn't," said Jax. "I've had my own suspicions and I should've looked more into it myself."

White nodded. "Normally in a situation like this, we could send our units out to rescue Kenshi and Cyrax, but unfortunately, we have destroyed all those portals."

Alex quickly looked up at the General, not liking what he was saying. "So then what do we do now?"

White looked over at Alex. He sighed lightly seeing the sadness in her blue eyes. "I'm afraid that, right now, there is nothing we can do."

"What do you mean 'nothing?'" Sonya called out with anger. "Why don't we just build another portal or find out if another military units have built their own portals?"

"Sonya," White said. "It took us nearly a year to build the portal for the OIA. Besides, Kenshi and Cyrax may not be alive by the time it gets completed again."

A horrible chill went up Alex's spine. The last thing she wanted to think about was Kenshi being dead.

"We'll find a way!" Sonya cried. "And we'll find them as quickly as possible!"

"Sonya-" White tried to say.

"I won't leave my men behind, no matter what situation we're in!"

"She's right!" cried out Alex. "It's a soldier's honor, we won't leave them behind!"

White sighed. "All right. In that case, no matter how long it takes and no matter how you do it, it's your mission to bring Agent Kenshi and Agent Cyrax back home safely."

White saluted them and the three soldiers followed.

\---

An hour after the meeting, Sonya sat at her office desk. She had paperwork in front of her, but her mind felt blurred. She couldn't stop thinking about what had happened within the last couple of weeks, especially the last two days. Now she had to figure out a way to gain access to Outworld and rescue her two agents.

_I must find a way to do this,_ she thought with determination.

"Knock, knock," she heard someone say. She turned her head and spotted Jax by her door. "You all right?" he asked as he closed the door.

Sonya rested her head on her hands. "I don't know anymore. I'm just really out of it right now."

"Wanna talk about it?" Jax insisted. He grabbed a chair and sat down next to the blond agent.

Sonya leaned back in her chair. "I just can't believe we were manipulated by Hsu Hao. He was a double agent all along and none of us saw it."

"I had the feeling the whole time," Jax answered. "Unfortunately, I lacked proof until the last minute."

Sonya sighed. "I'm really worried about Kenshi and Cyrax. We haven't heard from Cyrax in weeks and now Kenshi's trapped out there. We don't even know if they're all right. I'm worried about Alex too. She hasn't been handling this too well, although she has tried her best."

"I know," Jax agreed. "It's natural to worry about those you care about."

"And don't forget that she's with child now so naturally her emotions will spiral a bit." The look of determination appeared on Sonya's face. "We definitely have to get Kenshi and Cyrax home as quickly as possible."

That's when they heard another knock. They turned around and saw Alex through the window part of the door. Sonya waved her in. Alex opened the door, walked in, and closed the door behind her.

"Hey," Alex said.

"Hey," Sonya and Jax replied at the same time.

"I saw you two here and I thought I'd come in, unless it's something private..."

"No, you're welcome with us anytime," Jax said placing a nearby chair next to him. Alex sat down in it.

Alex sighed a little. "So, what now?"

"Well," said Sonya. "The first thing we have to do is find a portal, which will take us to Outworld, and fast."

"But where would we find quick access?" asked Jax.

Suddenly, they hear a loud thunder just next to the window. The loud sound had startled the three agents.

"Whoa!" cried Jax.

That's when they heard someone say, "It's good to see you again."

The three agents turned their heads and noticed a tall man standing next to a window. He wore a rice harvester hat, strands of his grayish-white hair peeked out from a skin tight black hood, and his white eyes glowed.

"Who are you?!" Alex cried out feeling a bit freaked out.

"Don't worry Alex," said Sonya. "This is an old friend of ours, Raiden, the Thunder God of Earth."

"How are you doing Raiden?" asked Jax.

"All right," Raiden replied. "Except that Earth is in danger again."

Jax groaned. "Not again."

"What's going on?" asked Alex.

"That I can't explain now," Raiden replied. "Meet me at the Island where the first Mortal Kombat took place. There, I will explain everything."

The agents nodded as a lightning bolt struck Raiden. Then, it disappeared along with him.

Sonya smiled a little bit. "We may have found our access."

\---

Two hours after Raiden left, Jax, Sonya, Alex, and White stood in front of a helicopter, which was ready to take off to their destination.

"Are you sure about this?" asked White.

"Hell yeah," replied Jax. "I've got a feeling that we'll be kicking some Outworld ass soon enough!"

"And don't worry General," said Sonya. "We'll make sure to bring our men home."

"Good luck," the old General said with a salute.

Jax and Sonya saluted as well before they turned to Alex.

"Alex," said Jax. "I'm sorry that you can't come along, but it's for the best."

Alex nodded in understanding. "I know… I chose such a great time to get knocked up..."

"Here," Sonya said giving her a walkie talkie. "This connects to my radio. We'll contact you as much as possible."

"Thank you," Alex replied gratefully.

The female agents shared a brief hug. Then, the younger agent shared another brief embrace with Jax.

"Good luck," Alex said saluting the two agents.

Jax and Sonya saluted as well. "And Alex," Sonya continued. "I promise to bring Kenshi home for you."

Alex smirked at her and held the dog tag that Kenshi had given to her before he left.

"Let's get going," said Jax to his partner.

Sonya nodded and the two agents jumped into the helicopter. Alex watched it slowly make its way into the air. When it was high enough, it began to fly towards its destination. She watched it go until she couldn't see it anymore.

Alex tightened her grasp on the dog tag. _Be careful._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the reason I went through with the pregnancy plot is simply because I needed a reason for Alex to stay behind on Earth while the others head to Outworld. I was still a teenager at the time I wrote this story too, so with that frame of mind, I went for the cheap, dramatic plotline. If I had written this much later, I would've gone for something different.
> 
> Buuut what's done is done and the plotline is a bit too interwoven into the main story in later chapters to change it now.


	13. Chapter Twelve - The Deadly Alliance

The helicopter landed on the sands of an island that looked abandoned. Agent Sonya Blade only glared at the island, knowing what had taken place here. It was where Shang Tsung held his Mortal Kombat tournaments for centuries. Sonya was on this island ten years ago when she and her troops followed Kano onto a mysterious ship. It had led her here and when her troops were held captive by Shang Tsung's guards, she had no choice but to participate in the tournament in order to save her troops.

Sonya shivered at the thought but remained calm as possible.

As soon as the helicopter settled on the sand, she and Agent Jax Briggs opened the door and jumped out. The pilot wished them good luck and quickly went off.

Jax looked around the deserted island. "Now what?" he asked.

That's when they heard footsteps coming towards them from behind. Both agents whirled around quickly, thinking it was an intruder ready to attack. Both of them then relaxed as they saw this person. The hat with the razor sharp ends gave them the clue.

"Kung Lao," said Jax. "It's been a long time."

"It has indeed," Kung Lao replied.

Sonya began to have an eerie feeling as the well-known Shaolin Monk spoke. She could hear the sadness in his voice and he looked worn out.

"Is something the matter?" Sonya asked concerned.

Kung Lao made eye contact with the blond agent. "I prefer not to talk about it." He managed to smirk. "It's good to see you again, Sonya."

"Same here," Sonya replied while smiling a bit. "Would you like to spar with me?"

"Sure."

Jax sat down on the sand as Sonya and Kung Lao walked a few feet away from him and began sparring. He wondered what was going to happen. Even before they arrived, he and Sonya had always had a plan when it came to missions, but this was the first time that they didn't have any plans to prepare themselves for what they were going to face. Perhaps it was because everything went so fast from sending Cyrax to Outworld to Raiden warning them about a new threat to Earth. Now because of that, anything can happen and no matter what it was, he and Sonya must be prepared for it.

That's when Jax noticed a small boat not too far in the distance. The boat seemed to be made out of ice. It was no question as to who was coming.

_Sub-Zero,_ Jax thought.

Kung Lao and Sonya had noticed the boat too and stopped their sparring. As the boat came closer, they noticed not only Sub-Zero, but another person as well, who looked like a female version of him.

The boat soon landed and both Sub-Zero and the stranger stepped out of the boat.

"Greetings," said Sub-Zero.

The ice ninja bowed to the three. Sonya, Jax, and Kung Lao followed. Then, they took notice of the woman with Sub-Zero. She wore similar clothes like him and her icy blue hair was gelled upwards with mist emitting from them with each movement.

"This is my apprentice Frost," Sub-Zero said while putting a hand on her shoulder. "She's accompanying me during this journey."

"Hi," said Sonya.

Frost only narrowed her icy blue eyes at her before walkin past her. Sonya raised an eyebrow as the female ice ninja searched around the island.

"She's, eh, a little arrogant," Sub-Zero whispered.

Before anyone said anything, they heard a plane above them. They looked up just in time to see someone jumping out of the plane. A few seconds later, a parachute shot out of the bag on their back. Then, Jax realized who this was.

_Not Johnny Cage! Anybody but Johnny Cage!_

Sonya smiled to herself as the world-famous actor landed safely on the ground wearing nothing but a black tuxedo and his trademark sunglasses. _He sure hasn't changed a bit,_ she thought.

"Hey!" Johnny called out to everyone while showing off his cocky grin. "Are you ready to kick some more Outworld ass?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jax grumbled.

"We are," replied Sonya. "But I don't think that this is going to be the same like all of our other times at Outworld."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Sub-Zero.

Then, they became startled when a campfire not too far from them suddenly lit up. At first, everyone only stared at the fire from where they were standing. Then, they slowly walked over to it. Sub-Zero, Frost, and Kung Lao sat down on the logs on the ground while Sonya, Jax, and Johnny stood.

Everyone stayed silent for a few minutes. Each of them imagined what would probably happen in Outworld this time around, but no matter what, anything was possible. As they thought through everything, Sonya realized something.

_Where's Liu Kang?_

Then, as expected, a lightning bolt landed on the ground near them. Raiden appeared and began walking over to the warriors. The fire began to grow more with fierce.

"Greetings my friends," Raiden said. He looked at each and every one of the warriors. When he eyed Jax, he asked, "Where is your friend Alex?"

"It was best that she didn't go," Jax replied. "She's… on medical leave."

"I see," Raiden nodded. He then continued. "Most of you may have a clue about what may be going on."

"The world is in peril once again," said Frost with a little annoyance in her voice. This made Sonya twitch a little.

"Indeed."

Then, Raiden began explaining everything.

"Mortal Kombat has always been and always will be. For millennia, the forces of good and evil have been locked in eternal battle over the control of Earthrealm. Some seek to use the tournament to destroy all that is good. Others seek vengeance, power, or eternal life. Time after time, each individual threat has been vanquished and Earthrealm has enjoyed relative peace for many years. But there is concern that Earth is once again in peril. And this time, the threat of evil has two faces.

"It is now known that the sorcerer Quan-Chi has escaped from the Netherrealm. Since his escape, Quan-Chi has unlocked the secret of the ancient Rune Stone, discovered the ancient, undefeatable army of the long forgotten Dragon King, and most disturbing of all, formed an alliance with one of our deadliest enemies - Shang Tsung.

"With their combined strengths, they plotted to overpower the only two beings who could prevent their total domination of our two realms. The first was the emperor of Outworld - Shao Kahn. In a false show of allegiance, they sprung their attack. They then traveled to Earthrealm by a way of a mystical portal only known to sorcerers and deities.

"There, they confronted Earth's mightiest warrior and champion of Mortal Kombat - Liu Kang. It has been Shang Tsung's desire to consume the soul of Earth's greatest warrior. With Quan-Chi's assistance, he achieved this goal…

"Liu Kang is dead."

Complete silence and sorrow filled those around the campfire. Sonya turned to Kung Lao, realizing why he had looked grim since her arrival on this island. He had known about his death before coming here.

Raiden continued. "They have since returned to Outworld and are using the souls of conquered warriors to resurrect the Dragon King's undefeatable army. Should they succeed, they will have the means to conquer Outworld, and eventually Earthrealm.

"They will be unstoppable. I can no longer stand idly by and watch this evil consume the world. I have relinquished my status as Elder God to return to earth and lead you all to battle against our old adversaries.

"We must act now. We must stop this Deadly Alliance."

A heavy wind blew hard and it had blown the fire out like a light. The warriors realized that the fight to save Earthrealm had begun.

\---

The warriors were taken to another island by a Nethership, but this time, there was a portal, the one that will lead them to Outworld.

Each warrior had to fight an illusion of their worst adversary. Jax fought an illusion of Hsu Hao, no surprise, and won. Sonya fought a man named Mavado, someone she's never met before. Perhaps she will meet up with him in Outworld.

Sub-Zero fought Scorpion, Kung Lao fought Shang Tsung, Frost fought Sub- Zero, Johnny fought himself, and Raiden fought Quan Chi. All of them were the victors and gained access to Outworld.

As the portal began to transport them to Outworld, Sonya thought about Alex.

_I won't break my promise,_ she swore as the portal transported them to Outworld.


	14. Chapter Thirteen - The Enigma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I first wrote this story, I had initially thought what everyone else thought… that Ermac _taught_ Kenshi how to use his telekinetic powers, but long after writing this chapter, I realized that statement wasn't all true. In Kenshi's Deadly Alliance Konquest journey, it _only_ states that Ermac taught him how to perform the telekinetic slam and nothing else.
> 
> However, as I edit this story back in 2013, I realized, because of how this chapter came out, that editing the mistake would have been too complex since the overall story would have be affected by the change (much like the pregnancy plot). So this chapter pretty much remains the same and follows what I misinterpreted all those years ago.

Kenshi slept under a tree for a couple of hours. He barely slept since coming to Outworld and he knew that his comrades would want that, even if it was only for a few minutes.

Since becoming blind, Kenshi still found it amazing that he was able to see in his dreams. It was like he was able to see again and everything in the dream always seemed realistic.

But normally, his dreams weren't pleasant ones and this dream was no exception…

_He was walking through an empty field, the sun in the distance starting to set. Kenshi walked around as if he was looking for something. Then, he spotted a blur not too far from him. He walked over to it. The blur looked like it turned, like it was facing him._

_Kenshi immediately took out his sword. "Who are you?!" he demanded._

_"Kenshi," the blur said. Kenshi loosened the grip on his sword as he heard the sweet, feminine voice. This voice was one Kenshi recognized easily._

_"Alex," he sighed with a bit of relief. He placed his sword back behind him._

_"It's so good to see you," Alex said. Kenshi narrowed his eyes in an attempt to see her better, but no matter what he did, she was nothing more than blur._

_Alex extended her hand out. "Come, Kenshi, let's go to a place where we'll live in peace. No more war, no more fighting."_

_Kenshi smirked. He liked the sound of that and he knew that Alex would take him to that peaceful place. However, upon reaching out and grabbing her hand, Alex suddenly collapsed into his arms. Kenshi also noticed that he was no longer in the empty field._

_He was in the Netherrealm._

_"What the-" he said, but as he looked down, he no longer saw blur._

_A dry skeleton lied in his arms._

_"ALEX!" Kenshi screamed, jumping up and leaving the skeleton down on the ground. He suddenly heard an evil laugh. Kenshi looked up and saw him._

_"Shang Tsung," he growled. "What did you do to her?!"_

_Shang Tsung laughed a little bit more before speaking. "You've always been a fool, Kenshi. You always fall into one's trickery."_

_Kenshi quickly drew his sword out. "Answer me, sorcerer! What did you do to Alex?!"_

_"Ah, what love can do to a warrior's mind… you're not only a fool, but a weak one as well. Shouldn't you be concentrating on your mission and not on the mere mortal you call your lover?"_

_"I said answer me, you coward!" At this point, a fuel of rage boiled through Kenshi's blood._

_"Fine, if you're that desperate." Shang Tsung grinned sadistically as he spoke. "But all I can say is that Alex was a fool just like you. I used her to lure you here… of course, I had already killed her, sucked her up dry. Before I did kill her though, I had the opportunity to… have fun with her."_

_Kenshi's teeth were clenched tight. "You bastard!" he growled through his teeth. He screamed in rage and ran over to the sorcerer, who only stood there, a smirk spread across his face. When he was a few feet away, Kenshi swung his sword, but Shang Tsung easily dodged it. He took out his own sword and stabbed Kenshi from behind._

_Kenshi stood there in shock as he felt his own blood drip down his back and on to the ground. He couldn't believe that he fell for his trick again. He let his anger and rage get the best of him and now his flaw lead him to his fatality._

__'Perhaps,' _he thought._ 'I am a fool…' __

_He fell forward into the pit of darkness and as he did, he heard Shang Tsung say, "Your soul is mine!"_

Kenshi found himself in the darkness, but he wasn't lying down, he was sitting. He felt the soft ground he sat on and the tree he leaned against.

He had woken up from his nightmare.

Kenshi felt a headache come to him. He took both his hands to each side of his head and rubbed his temples clockwise. The blindfold around his eyes got in the way, so he took it off, revealing his pale eyes. He rubbed just above them to ease the headache.

Then, the thoughts of the nightmare came back to him.

"Alex," he whispered.

Immediately, he went to his arm panel to get in contact with Jax, wanting to make sure that she was all right, but when he pressed the communication button, he sensed the beacon signal gone.

_What?!_ he thought in panic. He pressed the button a few more times. _Why can't I get in contact?_

Then, a horrible thought came to his mind.

_Were they attacked?_

He did have a mission, but it would have to be on hold temporarily. He couldn't get a contact signal and wanted to make sure that everyone, especially Alex, are all right.

He pressed another button, which would transport him back to Earthrealm. Once again, he couldn't get a beacon signal. Kenshi clenched his teeth in frustration. Not only had something happened back on Earth… he was also trapped in Outworld.

Kenshi slumped back against the bark of the tree. Many thoughts played in his head in fast motion. He sat there, looking like he was dazed out. Then, Alex came to his mind. In his mind, he could only see blur. He could hear only silence now, except for the light wind blowing around Outworld.

"Damn it," he whispered in frustration as he covered his face with his hands. "I hope she's okay…"

As he put his hands back down, he suddenly sensed someone nearby. All of Kenshi's thoughts and emotions quickly disappeared like a light. He slowly stood up as he heard light footsteps nearby. Kenshi slowly reached behind his back and lingered his fingers around the hilt of his sword. When the footsteps were close enough, Kenshi quickly whirled around and lashed his sword out.

To his surprise, the figure grabbed the arm holding the sword.

"We won't hurt you," the figure said calmly. Kenshi could tell that the voice belonged to an older male.

"Who are you?!" Kenshi demanded. "And what do you want?!"

"You're help," the person replied. "You're the first mortal we've seen since the last Mortal Kombat tournament. Have you ever heard of the Emperor Shao Kahn?"

Kenshi put his arm down, but still kept his tight grasp on the sword. "A few times, yes."

"We are one with a thousand dead soldiers within, all because of the Emperor. We had served him once, but that was the past. You know, he is dead now."

That would explain why he said 'we' instead of 'I.' "Is he?" Kenshi asked, not really caring about the Emperor's fate.

"Yes, and now we have the opportunity to free ourselves. Unfortunately, the orb which holds the souls together can only be touched by a mortal. I'm immortal and cannot touch the orb. We need a mortal to destroy it and since you are the first mortal we've met since Shao Kahn's death, we will be needing your help."

"And what makes you think I can trust you that easily? Also, you never answered my other question."

The figure stayed silent for a moment before speaking again. "We are Ermac. We can sense great power in you. Perhaps, we can make an exchange."

Kenshi gave himself a few seconds to think about the situation. _Because of Shao Kahn,_ he thought. _That all these souls are trapped in this one being._

The tight grasp on his sword began to loosen up a bit. _It's like how my ancestors have been enslaved by Shang Tsung._

Ermac looked at the swordsman. He was surprised when he slipped the sword back behind him. "Sudden change of heart, we see," Ermac said.

Kenshi slowly nodded. "I don't trust you just yet," he replied. "But I know how it is. The souls of my ancestors are enslaved as well."

"Shang Tsung," Ermac replied.

"But if you try to fool me," Kenshi continued. "I will whip my sword out and cut you to pieces quicker than a blink of an eye."

Ermac laughed a bit. "For a blind man, you're sharp, but do not worry, you won't be fooled. Like we said before, we can make an exchange."

"What kind of exchange?"

"One which we believe will benefit you."

Ermac reached out, his hand glowing. Kenshi felt a sharp twitch inside of him and fell back. As he landed, the twitching went away.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Kenshi demanded.

"Huh, short temper we have," Ermac replied. "You, our friend, now have telekinetic abilities."

"Tele-what?" Kenshi asked slowly getting up.

"Telekinetic powers," Ermac repeated. "It's when one is able to-"

"I know what it is," Kenshi cut in. "But why?"

"Surprising an opponent is one of thing that counts in combat. As a blind swordsman, like yourself, you hold many surprises. Having telekinetic powers will surprise them even more, that is why we gave you these powers. We know of three moves that we can teach you in short time. An average person can learn these quickly. Anything else you wish to learn beyond our brief teaching is up to you."

Ermac found a heavy log and brought it closer to Kenshi. "In front of you is a log. First, we want you to lift it up with your mind, just to test your powers out."

Kenshi nodded and focused, his right hand out. His head and his hands glowed in a blue aura and with his mind, he lifted the log slowly above him. Kenshi could feel the weight of the object as he brought it upwards.

"Good," Ermac said. Kenshi put the log back down.

Ermac continued. "Now we will teach you three tricks you can use, especially during combat. The first is the easiest and it's what we call the Telekinetic Push. Just use your hand as if you are pushing away someone."

Kenshi nodded and focused again. He brought his hand quickly forward and once again felt the weight of the log. The log was pushed a few feet back and hit's a bark of a tree nearby.

"Well done," Ermac said. "Now will you learn another move called the Telekinetic Toss. You freeze your opponent in place and then toss them to your other side."

Kenshi focused once again. He kept the log in place for a second. Then, he brought it towards him and shifted his body back to let the log pass by him. Then, he let the log land with a loud thud.

"Excellent," Ermac said. "The final move you'll be learning is called the Telekinetic Slam, which is a tricky move because if you miss your opponent, it leaves you wide open for an attack."

Ermac brought the log back closer to Kenshi. "Lift your arm up as you lift the log. Then, turn your palm toward the ground and drop your palm in a downward direction."

Kenshi nodded and focused one more time. He managed to lift the log above his head. Then, he turned his hand and slammed the log down as hard as he could. The log shattered into a million splinters.

Ermac clapped his hands a few times. "You're indeed a fast-learning warrior. We have done you a good favor. Now you must return it."

Kenshi nodded. "Where is this orb?"

"About a mile up. It won't be out of your way. We know that you are heading towards Shang Tsung's Palace. Follow me."

Ermac began walking and Kenshi followed.

The orb was hidden in a tree in the woods. Kenshi could sense the orb's evil power within. Kenshi was hesitant at first, remembering what had happened to him ten years ago.

_But then again,_ he thought. _He wouldn't have given me these new powers in the first place…_

Kenshi slowly put his hands in the tree, grabbed the orb, and pulled it out. He sighed with relief when nothing happened.

"We thank you for your help," Ermac said.

"Thank you for the powers," Kenshi replied. "But there's one thing I'm wondering… Shang Tsung…"

"There is a Deadly Alliance formed on and Shang Tsung has every soul he can get his hands on. We know that the souls within us will be trapped once they are freed, but I do know one thing… we know that you will set the souls free from Shang's grasps. And… we never caught your name."

"It's simply Kenshi."

Ermac nodded. "Good luck, Kenshi."

Kenshi nodded. He tossed the orb in the air. Then, he took out his sword and quickly cut the orb in half as though it was nothing more than a piece of paper. The two pieces shattered upon impact with the ground. Kenshi could feel a big gust of wind blowing against him and he could hear the sounds of a thousand hisses.

If Kenshi was able to see, a blinding light would've hit him as Ermac broke into thousands of green souls. Then, the souls are pulled into the same direction, possibly heading where Shang Tsung's Palace was located.

Then, silence hit the air. Kenshi turned his head a few times to get his senses back in gear. He could sense the souls going in the same direction and once again, he followed them.


	15. Chapter Fourteen - The Return

Sonya, Jax, Johnny, Kung Lao, Sub-Zero, and Frost walked through Outworld. They could feel the eeriness of the environment on the edge of their skins as if someone was following them ready to attack from behind. What disturbed the group most of all were the green souls flying above them.

"It's as though they are attracted to something," said Johnny.

"It's obvious that it has something to do with Shang Tsung," replied Sub- Zero.

"Either way," said Jax. "We'll find out."

They all walked in silence for another two minutes before Kung Lao broke it.

"I wanted to visit an old martial arts master who is a native here," he said.

"And who is that?" asked Sonya.

Kung Lao answered. "His name is Bo' Rai Cho. He taught Liu Kang a move that helped him defeat Shang Tsung in the Mortal Kombat tournament ten years ago. I would like to learn the same move as well. I feel that it would increase our chances in defeating the Deadly Alliance."

"Well, I can safely say one thing," said Johnny. "Liu Kang always defeated the bad guy and we were always the sidekicks. Not that I minded, it saved me the stress, but now with him gone, we have to work on how all of us can defeat the bad guys instead of relying on him every time."

"For once, I agree with you," answered Jax.

"Go right ahead," said Sonya. "We'll meet up with you soon."

"I'll come back as soon as I can," Kung Lao answered. "I'll see you all soon."

Everyone bowed to Kung Lao. Kung Lao returned the bow and went on his way.

"Is that his way of leaving us behind?" asked Frost with a bit of harshness.

"Quiet," replied Sub-Zero staring at his pupil. Frost narrowed her eyes and turned away.

The group continued walking. Sonya's mind drifted a bit back to all that's happened. She wondered how Alex was holding up back in Earthrealm.

She also wondered if both Kenshi and Cyrax were all right out there in Outworld.

_I really do hope they're alive,_ she thought feeling a bit grim.

It was then that she noticed a black figure in the distance. Sonya stopped in her tracks and stared at the figure. She saw the black figure walking about and going further away from the group.

Then, Sonya noticed a shimmer on the person's face as they turned their head. She narrowed her eyes, knowing that the person had a piece of metal on his face. It was no mistake as to who this was.

"Kano," Sonya growled.

Everyone with her noticed that she had stopped walking and turned to her. "What's up, Sonya?" asked Johnny.

"You see that figure in the distance?"

Everyone turned to where she was looking. Indeed, they too noticed the figure in the distance.

"Yeah, what about him?" asked Frost.

"It's Kano, I know it," Sonya replied.

Jax looked at the figure, then back at Sonya. "Are you sure?"

Sonya took out her handgun. "I know it. I'm going after him. I'll catch up with you guys soon." Sonya immediately began to go after the figure.

Jax looked at everyone else, his back turned to where Sonya was going. Before he could speak to them, he too noticed another figure not too far. He immediately recognized the figure wearing green pants, black boots, a green and black military hat… and a cybernetic heart over his chest.

"Hsu Hao," Jax growled.

Sub-Zero, Frost, and Johnny turned around and noticed the figure.

Jax took out his machine gun. "That's the traitor who destroyed the OIA. I'm going after him. Follow me in about five minutes." Then, he began running after Hsu Hao.

Johnny turned to the ice ninjas. "Well, it seems like everyone's going off doing their own thing today."

"That's what vengeance can do to you," replied Sub-Zero.

After five minutes, the three of them began to walk in the same direction Jax went.

\---

**Back on Earthrealm**

Alex looked through an old family album that her aunt had given to her just before she joined Special Forces. It was filled with many pictures containing her parents, her aunt, and herself at a young age.

She took her time looking at each and every picture and thought about the good memories behind them. There were many pictures of her father back in his military days and some pictures contained her mother working at the old bakery shop back in her small town in Florida.

Since her parents passed away, the only other living relative left was her Aunt Maggie, who lived in the same Florida town she grew up in. She and Aunt Maggie became close especially after her mother's death. However, Alex's military career tended to keep her away from home, and she was only able to speak with her aunt once a week if she was lucky.

Alex then placed her hand over her stomach. Being only a few weeks along, her pregnancy wasn't noticeable as of now. She had managed to speak to Aunt Maggie once since Jax and Sonya had left for Outworld. She had told her about Kenshi, but she couldn't bring up the courage to tell her that she was having his child.

_Perhaps, I'll let her know next time I speak with her,_ she thought.

Suddenly, she heard what sounded like someone landing hard on the ground just outside her bedroom door. Alex jumped from her chair.

_What the hell was that?!_ she thought.

She walked over to the door and quickly opened it. She gasped when she noticed the very familiar cyborg getting up from the floor. On the ceiling, what looked like a portal just closed right up.

"Cyrax!" Alex cried out, feeling relieved to see him.

Cyrax shook his head, and then looked over at her. "Alex! It's good to see you!"

Alex managed to smile a bit. "It's good to see you well and alive! Come in." She motioned Cyrax to come in her room. Cyrax walked in and sat on her bed. Alex closed the door and sat at her desk, turning her chair towards her bed so that she could face the cyborg.

"I experienced one hell of a ride," Cyrax said. "How have things been since I lost communication with you all?"

Alex's small smile faded. A little sadness came over her blue eyes. "Well, a lot happened since then. We were really worried about you, what happened?"

"Well, it's a long story, but I'll try to make it as short as possible," Cyrax said. "This reptile-like creature attacked me while I was talking to Jax. He ripped up my arm panel and then tried to kill me. I managed to defend myself with my spin kick and he ran off.

"Then, a vampire named Nitara came to me. She needed my help in retrieving an orb that bounded her native realm with Outworld. The orb was located within the depths of molten lave. Since I was a cyborg, it would be easier for me to survive down there than for Nitara herself. If I retrieved the orb, then she would return me to Earth.

"So I went with her, then I went into the molten lave. My censors almost burnt out as soon as I put my head in. It was really bright and hot down there, but I wasn't about to give up. After a long search, I found the orb in the deepest part of the lava. I grabbed it and quickly made my way back up.

"When I did get back to the surface, I gave the orb to her. Then, she took what looked like a crystal necklace and summoned a portal. There was only enough time for me to bow to her before I was swept into the gateway. Then, I landed right in front of your door. A softer landing would've been nice, but at least I'm back home now."

Then, Cyrax's chest opened up. A machine popped out holding a bottle of Heineken. Cyrax grabbed the bottle.

"Although I didn't complete my actual mission," Cyrax said. "We should at least celebrate my return! Join me for a drink!"

Alex almost laughed. "Didn't Jax tell you to not bring beer with you on the mission?"

"Yes," Cyrax answered. "But this shows that he should do a cavity search next time. Besides, this was the only bottle I had and I was saving it for a special occasion." He brought the bottle to Alex. "I'll let you take the first sip."

Alex pushed the bottle away. "Thanks, but, well, I have a story to tell you myself. You see, after we lost contact with you, we sent Kenshi out to look for you. A over two weeks later, the OIA was destroyed. Yours and Jax's suspicions were correct about Hsu Hao, by the way. He turned out to be a traitor. He's obviously involved in an organization whose after us. Basically, not only have we lost contact with you, we lost contact with Kenshi as well. Jax and Sonya are in Outworld right now looking for you two."

"I feel so special," Cyrax said. "But what about you? How come you're here and not kicking Outworld butt?"

Alex lightly put her hand over her stomach. "Well, for one thing, Kenshi and I are together now-"

"I knew there was something between you two," Cyrax said with delight.

Alex smiled a bit and continued. "Well, eh, here's the thing... I happened to miss a couple of days of my contraceptive pills and, well… I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Cyrax spoke. "Wow… you two didn't waste any time! I'm surprised you two didn't run off and get hitched before that!"

"Be quiet," Alex laughed, the redness coming over her face. She was glad that Cyrax was back in one piece. He knew how to make her laugh, even in the grimmest times.

"Well, I congratulate you," Cyrax continued, raising his beer bottle in a toast. "But hopefully, everyone else will come back in one piece, especially Kenshi… for you and your kid. Does he know?"

Alex should her head sadly. Before Cyrax spoke, she stood up. "Yeah… I should get in contact with Sonya right away to let her know that you're back."

"Good idea." Cyrax opened the Heineken bottle with one twist. "So, eh, when's the baby shower?"

"I'm not sure," Alex replied. She grinned as a thought came to her. "But I'm only sure of one thing right now and I apologize ahead of time. There's going to be no beer there."

"Darn."


	16. Chapter Fifteen - The Final Justice

Sonya Blade made her way through the harsh wind conditions as she followed her long-time rival Kano. The winds were blowing at about what seemed like 80 miles per hour, the sands being ripped from the ground and swirled into the air in different directions. Sonya ignored the sharp, stabbing pain from the sands on her skin as she followed Kano to two pyramids standing in the middle of nowhere.

Sonya narrowed her blue eyes at Kano, tightening her grip on her handgun. For a decade, she has been chasing Kano down. He was a member of the Black Dragon, an international gang known for drug smuggling and stealing of weapons from other countries.

And now it was time to bring him down.

It was then that Sonya heard her radio go off.

"Sonya Blade, this is Alexandra Walker, come in Sonya."

Sonya shook her head a bit. She took her radio up to her face and spoke into it. "Sonya Blade here, is it an emergency?"

"Well," Alex answered. "I wouldn't call it an emergency per se, but more of a very important message pertaining to the mission."

Sonya looked up from her radio. She saw that Kano wasn't too far from her. _I'll make this quick,_ she thought. She spoke into the radio again. "Report, soldier."

"You guys don't need to worry about Cyrax anymore," Alex said. "He's safe back here on Earth now."

Sonya was both shocked and happy to hear this news. _How did Cyrax get back on Earth?_ she asked herself. But what was more important was that he returned to Earth safely. One of her men was somehow rescued from Outworld.

Now they had to only save Kenshi.

Sonya talked back into the radio. "Thank you for the report. I'll have to get back to you in a little while. I've got some business to take care of. It won't take long."

"Copy that," Alex replied. "Walker out."

Sonya put her radio back to her waist pouch. As she closed up the pouch, she suddenly felt a hand touch her left shoulder. She quickly whirled around to get a better look at who was behind her.

Kano!

"So, we meet again, Sonya Blade," Kano said, a devilish smile spread across his face. "Care to dance once again? Or how about a little hello kiss?"

Sonya narrowed her eyes at the Black Dragon member. "I've been at your tail for the last decade. I'm surprised you're even still alive. Face it Kano, you're the only Black Dragon left. It's over... it's been over for a long time."

Kano laughed for a few seconds before speaking again. "Oh, Sonya baby, you're unaware of what's going on, do ya? It's far from over. The Deadly Alliance has only just begun. The Dragon King's undefeatable army will all be resurrected by the souls of conquered warriors. We will conquer Outworld and we will conquer Earthrealm. We will get every soul we could get... including that little agent you sent out here."

Sonya felt her heart leap into her throat. 'Kenshi!'

She immediately raised her gun and pointed it at Kano's face. "What did you do to him?! And how did you find out about him?!"

"Oh, seems like I hit a sensitive spot there, didn't I?" Kano asked mockingly. "Well, sweetheart, we didn't reach him yet, but when we do, he'll be a goner just like everyone who defies the Deadly Alliance. Shang Tsung and Quan-Chi won't allow anyone to get in the way of their operation. As we speak, someone is after him right now. Don't know who though, but it doesn't matter, your little blind agent will die soon enough..."

"You keep him out of this!"

Kano smiled more. "You know, I thought you had a thing for that lousy actor. Now you're into the blind man?"

Sonya said nothing to Kano as she narrowed her eyes at him. _I have a promise to keep and I'll keep that promise no matter what the cost!_

"That's just sweet," Kano sneered. "So what are you going to do now... shoot me with that little toy of yours?"

Sonya grunted a little. Sure, it would have been easy to just blow his brains out and end it right there, but she wasn't about to take the easy way out, not after all these years. She was going to have to put up a fight, no matter how long it took.

She placed her gun in the holster on her waist. Then, she lifted her arms and curled her hands into fists. "No, I'm not going down without a fight. Bring your worst."

"With pleasure," Kano replied and immediately darted after her. He only had to run a few feet towards her before he was close enough to throw a punch at her. When he did, Sonya stepped back and let him pass through. Sonya elbowed Kano in the back of the head. Kano only held his skull as he quickly turned back around with a small growl.

Kano put his hand down and began throwing series of punches and kicks at the Special Forces agent. Sonya played on defense blocking as many moves as Kano gave her. Then, she managed to find an opening and slugged him in the stomach. Kano was caught by surprise and the wind was knocked out of him. Then, she followed it up with an uppercut to his chin, causing his neck to snap back. Then she turned 180 degrees and slammed her elbow into her face, causing Kano to rear back.

"Pathetic," Kano said. With a smirk on his face, Kano leaned his face forward. A red laser from the eye on the metallic side of his face shot quickly at Sonya. Sonya didn't see this coming and couldn't react fast enough to get out of the way in time. The laser pierces through her right shoulder and the pressure from it caused her to rear back. Sonya let out a short cry as she felt the immense pain from the laser. When the laser disappeared, Kano jumped right back towards her and threw more punches at her. Sonya only blocked the first few, but the pain in her shoulder began to distract her.

Kano jabbed Sonya with his fingers into her eyes, temporarily blinding her. Then, he jabbed his knee into her stomach, then followed it up with a few more punches and kicks. After a few seconds of this, he jumped up, rolled himself into a ball, and quickly brought himself towards Sonya. He managed to knock her down to the ground.

Sonya landed hard into the sand. She could feel the coppery taste of her own blood in her mouth. She could also feel the blood dripping down her face from her head and the wound in her right shoulder. _How could this be?_ she thought with anger. _He took me down so damn easily like that. I can't let him get away with this!_

Kano walked over to Sonya and grinned. "You know Sonya, why do you waste your time chasing after me? I'm only going to get away again and you know it. Such a shame, isn't it? Luckily for you, I have business to take care of, so I'll just go ahead and spare your life. You're going to die any ways once the Deadly Alliance are in full force, so what's the perfect way of dying than to die knowing that you've been defeated by the man you've chased after for the last decade? Farewell Sonya." Then, Kano began walking away.

Just as he did, Sonya managed to get herself up. She wasn't about to let Kano walk away, especially that quickly. His back was turned to her, giving her a clear shot of her next move. She ran towards him, jumped in the air, and aimed her left foot at him. She managed to hit him in the back, causing him to feel stunned and he fell forward.

Sonya landed back on her feet and looked down at Kano. "You should know me by now, Kano. You should know that I don't give up, especially that easily, you coward!"

Kano got himself up and narrowed her eye at her. "I gave you a chance to live, but now you're going to die, you little bitch!"

Kano ran closer to her and lifted his leg to kick her. Sonya quickly blocked the move and then followed it up with her series of punches and kicks. Kano only defended himself with the first few moves, but Sonya managed to break through his block and smashed her fists, elbows, knees, and legs into his body in high speed and without mercy. After a minute of this, she ended her fury by kicking her right leg upward, hitting Kano's jaw. Then, she brought her leg back down, hitting the top of his head, causing him to go down on his knees. She ended the kick by bringing her leg forward and landed her foot hard into Kano's stomach, causing him to fly back. All of the punches and kicks he received had weakened him.

Sonya walked over to the former Black Dragon. As she did, she went into another one of her pouches around her waist. She grabbed a handful of lavender-colored sand and took it out.

When she was closer to him, Kano looked up at her in his weak state. Sonya smirked. "It ends here, Kano. But first, I want to give you a good-bye kiss."

She brought her hand towards her face. She kissed the tips of her fingers before blowing the sand into Kano's face. Immediately, Kano began coughing. After a few coughs, Kano began to vomit, which match the color of the ground at first. When he vomited a second time, it came up as blood. After that, Sonya performed the final move of the fatality. She quickly took two steps in front of her and jumped in the air as high as she could. Then, she landed so hard on his back that it caused Kano's head to explode to countless pieces.

Sonya stood on his back for a few more seconds before stepping off. She looked down at the bloody mess for a little bit. "It's finally over," Sonya muttered under her breath. "Kano's finally dead."

She turned her head just in time to see her allies, Johnny, Sub-Zero, and Frost running from a far distance into another direction. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed something.

_Where's Jax?_

She began going after them.

\---

Major Jax Briggs hid behind a pillar, standing there like a predator waiting for his prey. One thing was sure, that's nearly exactly what it was.

Jax spotted the traitor Hsu Hao not too long ago. Jax couldn't believe how Hsu Hao completely fooled everyone into believing that he was a soldier for the Chinese Secret Military. Who Hsu Hao really was, Jax wasn't sure, but he was sure of one thing... Hsu Hao was a traitor and is somehow involved with the Deadly Alliance. He was also responsible for not only nearly killing Jax, but has also risked the lives of two of their agents.

Jax looked up at the dark sky. He noticed the green-colored souls passing him, all going to the same direction. Jax sighed. _We'll free you guys soon._

That's when he heard running footsteps coming from behind him. Jax narrowed his eyes from under his dark military eye goggles, preparing for whoever was coming. When the footsteps were closer, Jax jumped right in front of the person. Indeed, it was Hsu Hao himself, just without his black conductor's hat.

Hsu Hao recognized the agent and his eyes were immediately filled with fear. Jax quickly grabbed him by the neck and threw him against the wall.

"YOU!" Jax screamed in rage. "HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE ON THE RECEIVING END YOU TRAITOR?!"

"How did you get here?!" Hsu Hao called out, trembling in fear.

"That don't matter no more, motherfucker! You destroyed the Outerworld Investigation Agency, you nearly killed me with your little nuclear bomb, and now two of our agents are lost, all because of you!" Jax's grip on Hsu Hao's neck tightened. "You better start explaining now! Who do you work for?"

Hsu Hao raised his hands and quickly put them out as far as he could get them in front of Jax. Then, to Jax's surprise, a huge gust of winds along with dust particles come out of Hsu Hao's hands as he clapped his hands together. This caused Jax to let go of Hsu Hao and he flew about a hundred feet back before landing hard on the ground.

"I've got more surprises up my sleeves than you think," Hsu Hao said with a smirk. He ran over towards Jax. Jax got up and when Hsu Hao was close enough, the Special Forces Major, fueled with raw anger, grabbed the artificial heart implant on his chest and. with all his might, he ripped it off the traitor's chest.

Immediately, crimson blood poured from Hsu Hao's chest. He screamed in pain and agony and fell to his knees. Then, he fell forward and became lifeless.

Jax tossed the implant to the side. "That's what you get!"

A few seconds later, Sub-Zero, Frost, and Johnny caught up with him. Frost saw the mess by Jax. "Ugh, disgusting."

"What the hell just happened?" asked Johnny in a bit of disbelief.

Jax sighed. "I settled a score. Now we can go find Sonya and keep going with our mission."

Just as he said that, he noticed Sonya running up to the group. "Hey!" Sonya cried.

"Speaking of the devil," said Johnny.

Sonya looked down at the body near her feet. "Heh, guess we found Hsu Hao."

"How was your meeting with Kano?" asked Sub-Zero.

Sonya smirked. "He's no longer a problem for us."

"Finally!" answered Jax.

That's when they heard a thunderbolt next to them. Everyone turned around and noticed Raiden coming towards them. Just behind him were Kung Lao and a large Asian man.

"We have found Shang's palace," said Raiden. "We must get going."

"Who's this guy?" asked Jax looking at the unfamiliar man.

Kung Lao turned his head towards him. "This is Bo' Rai Cho. He trained Liu Kang and taught him the move that helped him defeat Shang Tsung years ago. Now I've learned that very move for the battle to come."

_That was quick,_ thought Sonya.

"Greetings," said Bo' Rai Cho as he bowed to them. Everyone else followed.

"Wait!" called Sonya. Everyone turned to her. "I have good news and bad news."

"Go on," said Jax.

"Alex got in contact with me just before I fought Kano. Somehow, Cyrax came back to Earth so he's safe."

"That's great!" Jax cried. "But the bad news is Kenshi's still missing, right?"

"Sort of," Sonya replied, looking at Jax seriously. "The Deadly Alliance have discovered Kenshi and realized he works for Special Forces. Now they sent someone after him to eliminate him."

"What?!" Jax cried out in surprise.

"Yeah," Sonya said. She turned to the others. "Let's get going! We have to get to Kenshi first before they do!"


	17. Chapter Sixteen - The Sorcerers

Alex sat at her desk doing some paper work. At first, she was able to concentrate on her work, but after a while, her mind began drifting off. She tried to push her thoughts aside and concentrate on what she had to do, but it was no use. After a few minutes, she put the papers to the side and got up from her seat. She walked over to the window and looked out of it. There wasn't much activity going on out on the base right now mainly because it was the weekend.

Alex let out a long sigh. It had been over a month since Special Forces sent Kenshi out to his mission to look for Cyrax. And it was only a few days ago that Cyrax came back to Earthrealm safely. Sadly, Kenshi was still out there. Alex placed a hand over her stomach and sighed.

_Kenshi,_ Alex thought. _Please come home soon. I'm not the only one waiting for your safe return._

She didn't notice that Cyrax came in until he spoke. "How goes the paper work?"

Alex turned her head to face the cyborg. "Hey," she replied. "I can't concentrate on those papers, honestly. I can't stop thinking about the mission. It's been over a month since we sent Kenshi out to look for you. Plus I haven't heard from Sonya since I last talked to her about how you got back here. I wish I was out there helping them... I'd rather be out there helping than sit here and keep wondering in my mind what the hell is going on."

Cyrax walked over to Alex and placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort. "Don't worry, Alex. I'm sure they're going through something big right now. Hopefully they'll all come home safe soon."

"I hope so too," Alex replied. She lifted her hand and placed it over Cyrax's. Then, she looked back out the window.

\---

Sonya Blade, Jax Briggs, Johnny Cage, Sub-Zero, Kung Lao, Frost, and Bo' Rai Cho made their way up a large hill. All were silent as they went up, unsure of what lies ahead of them. When they finally reached the top of the hill, they noticed what looked like a palace. It was mostly red and gray and mainly made out of concrete. But there was another feature at the palace that caught everyone's attention. There was what looked like a green swirl, which shot up as high as the sky could get cutting through the heavy clouds above. The souls everyone had been following headed inside the palace. Some more souls headed straight towards the swirl and flew around it a few times before being sucked right into it.

Kung Lao growled. "Shang Tsung."

"He's obviously here," said Sub-Zero.

"And I will finally avenge Liu Kang."

Bo' Rai Cho looked over at Kung Lao. "Do not let your taste for revenge take over you. You do not want that to happen."

Kung Lao sighed. Indeed the old master was right. He shouldn't let vengeance get in the way. If he let that happen, he would end up in the same place as all of the other souls Shang Tsung had collected for many years.

"Well, let's get going," said Johnny as he began walking towards the palace.

Everyone else followed except Sonya and Jax. The two agents looked up at the palace. Then, Jax turned to Sonya. "Can I ask you one thing before we head off?"

Sonya turned her head towards her Special Forces partner and awaited her answer.

"When you last talked to Alex, how come you didn't tell her about the possibility of Kenshi's life being on the line?"

Sonya sighed. "Well, I didn't find out until after I spoke to her. And, well… I don't want her to be more worried than she already is. Just by telling her what's going on will raise her worries and fears even more. Just imagine the outcome if, Heavens forbid, we find Kenshi dead. It's best that she doesn't know until we're sure about what's going on, especially for her… current health."

Jax only nodded in reply. Then the two agents followed their allies into the palace.

They made their way into the palace. There were mummified skeletons in armor standing in straight line holding various weapons in their hands. All of them walked through the palace with determination on their faces as they prepared themselves for what's to come.

Then, they walked into what looked like the main room. It was there that they found the base of the green swirl they spotted outside. Johnny then spotted three shadows, two of them creature-like, holding what looks like a normal human.

"Look," he said to the others. He pointed at what he saw. Everyone followed and noticed the shadowed figures.

"What's going on over there?" asked Bo' Rai Cho.

It was then that the two creatures hurled the other person they were holding right into the green swirl. The person emerged from the shadows and everyone got a good look of who it was. It was Sub-Zero who said this person's name.

"Scorpion."

Scorpion's eyes glowed yellow and he stretched out his hand as if he was reaching for something. The souls inside the green swirl pulled him in until everyone could no longer see him. Then, the sound of limbs being ripped apart was heard and some blood poured out from the green swirl. Everyone looked at the green swirl, shocked by what just happened.

Sub-Zero turned to the others. "Scorpion must've got out of the Netherealm when Quan Chi did. He must've tried to go after him."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sonya in confusion.

Sub-Zero explained. "When I last fought with Scorpion, I was barely conscious when Scorpion said that he has avenged the death of his family and clan. I told him that I wasn't the killer and that it was someone else. Then, Quan-Chi came by and admitted that he was the true killer. He tried sending Scorpion back to the fifth plane of the Netherealm, but then Scorpion attacked Quan-Chi. The last thing I could remember was seeing the both of them disappearing before darkness took over me."

"If that's the case," said Frost. "Then this Quan Chi guy's not too far from us."

"Look," said Sonya suddenly. Everyone looked at her and noticed that she was looking at something. Everyone looked at where she was looking and noticed a young Asian woman dressed in purple lying on the floor. It looked as though she must've died not too long ago as her body was slowly beginning to turn blue.

"They're definitely not too far," said Jax.

"And indeed you're correct," said a voice. Everyone looked up and noticed a figure in the shadows not too far from the dead woman. When the figure emerged from the shadows, they realized who they were dealing with.

"Quan Chi,' said Bo' Rai Cho.

"That is correct," Quan Chi replied with a sadistic smirk.

It was then that the two creatures behind them took notice of Quan Chi. They walked out from the shadow, their looks giving chills up everyone's spine. One of them was dark green and large with three yellow eyes. Two of the eyes were in normal places while the third was on its forehead. It also held a black ball with its massive hand.

The other was just as hideous with no skin, only muscles and bones showing. It wore a colorful mask, most likely to hide its face. An iron club with spikes covered its right arm.

The second creature pointed its clubbed arm at Quan Chi. "There you are! Now you shall die for betraying us!"

The other creature roared and the two ran towards Quan Chi. Quan Chi smirked and immediately took out a golden object. A green jewel in the middle glowed and suddenly, the two creatures stopped in their tracks.

Quan Chi grinned with delight. "This amulet is sure worth having. And to think Shang Tsung could get away with forming an alliance with these two Oni demons, Moloch and Drahmin, and to think that I wouldn't know. He couldn't be any more pathetic. Now that I got that pest, Scorpion, out of the way, it's your turn to face my wrath!"

"Not so fast!" someone cried out. Everyone turned around and noticed a young-looking woman coming from behind them. Her extremely long dark hair was tied back in a ponytail and a blue cloth covered from her nose to her chin. She also wore a blue swimsuit-like outfit with netting sewn in the middle, blue knee-high boots, and blue elbow-length gloves. In her hands were two fans with sharp blades in the middle.

"Kitana!" cried Sonya.

"It's good to see you all again," Kitana replied. "But we'll chat later. Right now we've got business to take care of."

It was then that Kung Lao realized something. "Where's Shang Tsung?"

Quan Chi's grin turned into a smirk. "He's taking care of business, there's no need to worry about him."

"Worry?!" Kung Lao growled in anger. "He killed Liu Kang!"

Kitana looked over at Kung Lao in shock, her brown eyes widened in horror. "Liu's dead?!"

"That's right," said Quan Chi. "And soon you will be joining him in the Soulnado," he pointed to the green swirl behind him. "Actually, you'll just go in the Soulnado, Shang Tsung kept Liu's soul for himself."

"Quit talking and bring it!" demanded Jax.

"As you wish." He raised the amulet in the air. The green jewel in the middle glowed once again. Suddenly, the eyes of the skeletons around them glowed and they began moving about. Then they faced Quan-Chi as if they were waiting for their orders.

Quan Chi let out a laugh. "The will of the Deadly Alliance has begun! Every single one of the soldiers of the Dragon King's undefeatable army has a soul and they are all ready to conquer Outworld and Earthrealm! But first, they will begin by destroying you mortals." He pointed to the mortals and then looked over at the resurrected army. "ATTACK!"

\---

Kenshi could sense it. The chi of the souls he has been following since coming to Outworld grew stronger than ever.

_This could be it,_ Kenshi thought. _I may finally get to Shang Tsung after all of these years!_

As he walked forward, Kenshi could feel the soil underneath his feet. Then, after taking a few more steps, he began to feel concrete. Kenshi stopped on his tracks. Then, he could feel a bit of coldness around his left wrist.

Kenshi knew exactly where that coldness was coming from. He brought both hands in front of him. Then, he took his right hand over to his left wrist and touched the cold bracelet with his fingertips. It was the bracelet Alex had given him right before he went through the portal to Outworld. Kenshi sighed to himself. It's been over a month since she has been in his presence. He still hoped that she was okay along with everyone else at the Special Forces base.

_Don't worry Alex,_ he thought. _I'll get home as soon as I can._

It was then that he could hear someone coming out from somewhere. Kenshi sniffed a little as he slowly began to reach his hand towards the hand of his sword. "Who's there?" he demanded.

The figure walked a little closer to him.

"Answer me!" Kenshi ordered.

Then, the figure spoke. "You've become a bit more aggressive since the last time I saw you. As a matter of fact, I was the last person you ever saw."

Kenshi immediately lashed his sword out and pointed it toward the figure. "It's you, sorcerer!"

"Indeed it is," Shang Tsung replied. Kenshi could sense that Shang Tsung held his own weapon in his hand just by the stench of the metal. "Are you here to join your ancestors?"

"No!" Kenshi exclaimed. "I am here to eliminate you and free my ancestors. I spent the last decade searching for you. It ends here, sorcerer!"

Shang Tsung laughed darkly a little. "You've done pretty well for a blind man. I thought I had killed you ten years ago. This time, I'll make sure that you're dead for good and then we'll see how much of a fool you are. Prepare to die, swordsman!"

"And you as well!" Kenshi started running closer to Shang Tsung, who did the same. They both lashed their swords at each other and the two swords collided, signaling the beginning of their long-awaited duel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, eh... sorry Scorpion fans. But at least he ends up in the Heavens and becomes Earthrealm Champion during the events of Deception. =P


	18. Chapter Seventeen - The Showdown - Part 1

Quan Chi laughed evilly as he looked at the fighters in front of him; Sonya Blade, Jax Briggs, Johnny Cage, Sub-Zero, Frost, Kung-Lao, Bo' Rai Cho, and Princess Kitana, all who stood in front of him. Around the fighters, the mummified soldiers of the Dragon King's undefeatable army turned to Quan-Chi awaiting their orders.

"The will of the Deadly Alliance has begun!" the sorcerer cried out. "Every single one of the soldiers of the Dragon King's undefeatable army has a soul and they are all ready to conquer Outworld and Earthrealm!"

Sonya looked down at the dead woman by her feet. She was a beautiful woman with long black hair, each of her strands spreading to different parts of the black marble floor. She wore a Chinese lavender outfit designed with white flowers with a small slit going down the middle ending at her naval. A purple scarf wrapped around her slim waist.

_Her soul must've been the last they needed to revive all of the soldiers,_ Sonya thought.

Quan Chi continued. "But first, they will begin by destroying you mortals." He pointed to Sonya and the rest of her allies and then looked over at the army. "ATTACK!"

Sonya also noticed the Oni demons, Moloch and Drahmin coming towards them. _With whatever amount of strength they have and the number of soldiers we're going to fight, this is going to be a lot of work._

Jax turned to everyone. "I'll fight those demons. You guys take care of the mummies."

"You can't take those two by yourself!" said Johnny. "I'll help."

"Be careful!" Sonya called out.

"We will," Jax replied. He and Johnny ran over to the Oni demons. Johnny took out his nunchakus and headed towards Drahmin while Jax ran over to Moloch.

Immediately upon reaching them, Jax and Johnny were smashed in face with the demons' weapons, Drahmin's iron club, and Moloch's huge black ball. The two fighters flew backwards before landing hard on the ground.

Johnny rubbed his right arm. "Owe, that hurt."

"Did it really?" Jax replied sarcastically. "I seriously felt like I got hit by Earthrealm itself.

Both of them immediately got up and ran back towards their opponents. Both Oni demons stood in their stances prepared to face Jax and Johnny again.

Johnny ran over to Drahmin, his nunchakus out. "Come get a piece of me!" he called out.

Drahmin let out a grunt and charged after the mortal actor. He threw his clubbed arm at Johnny's head. Johnny ducked his head down before chucking the loose end of his nunchakus at Drahmin's abdomen as quickly as he could. The move connected and Drahmin reared back a couple of feet, the flies around him following him. Johnny crouched down to perform a sweep kick, but Drahmin saw the move coming and performed a back-flip kicking Johnny's jaw in the process. Johnny slid back on the marble floor about five feet.

Johnny quickly got himself back up, ignoring the pain in his jaw. He could also taste the copper-tasting blood in his mouth and throbbing on the left side of his cheek. When Drahmin kicked him, he had bit down the inside of his left cheek and ripped a small piece off. Johnny could taste that piece of his cheek bitten off and he spat it out.

As soon as Johnny straightened himself up, Drahmin was just a foot away and tried to knee Johnny in the chest. Johnny saw it coming and blocked the move. The two began exchanging punches and kicks at each other, one weakening the other.

When Johnny threw another punch at the demon's face, Drahmin grabbed the fist with one hand and held it with his large hand. "Face it mortal," Drahmin said, his deep voice rumbling behind his mask. "You will never defeat me."

"Not if I can help it," Johnny muttered under his breath. He took his free hand and swung in an uppercut motion. A green ball of energy came out from his hand and smashed Drahmin in the face. His mask shattered into pieces and fell quickly on to the floor. Johnny looked at the demon's face. His eyes were nothing but white and his face was just like the rest of his body, no skin, all muscles with a few bones sticking out. When Drahmin growled at him, he bared his yellow teeth.

Johnny arched up one of his eyebrows. "And Jax tells me I should look in the mirror when it comes to being ugly."

Drahmin let out a roar and sprinted towards the Earthrealm actor. Johnny quickly lifted his right leg and glided towards the demon. Green shadows followed as well. Johnny managed to land his foot into Drahmin's chest, breaking a few ribs. Drahmin stumbled back. This gave Johnny the chance to finish the battle.

Johnny brought his open right hand up and quickly planted it into Drahmin's gut. This caused the Oni demon to fall to his knees and cough up some blood. Then, Johnny raised his right hand up and once again planted his hand into Drahmin, this time in the head. He managed to get through the skull and into his brain. Blood splattered everywhere and Drahmin screamed in pain and agony. When the demon stopped screaming and finally fell limp, Johnny took the brain in his hand and ripped it out of his head.

"I just love doing tha-" Johnny tried to say, but before he could finish his sentence, one of the mummified soldiers knocked him down to the ground.

Meanwhile, Jax spent most of his time trying to dodge away from Moloch's ball of chain. He was lucky when he was first hit, but he had the feeling that he wouldn't be so lucky next time.

"Come on, big fella!" Jax cried out. "I dare you to try to take a swing at me... again!"

Moloch pulled back a bit. This made Jax think that the Oni demon was going to take another swing at the Special Forces agent. Instead, what he did next gave Jax a bit of a surprise. He inhaled quickly and a huge gust of wind carried Jax right off his feet and towards Moloch.

"HEY!" Jax yelled out. When close enough, Moloch took his free hand and smacked Jax upward. Jax flew in the air and as he came back down, Moloch took his ball and smashed his left arm, the metal breaking off. Jax flew to the side and landed hard on the ground.

Jax got himself up. "That arm cost me a lot of money! Now you're really going to pay!"

Jax ran up to Moloch. Moloch swung his ball. Jax duck and kicked his leg as hard as he could into Moloch's shin. Nothing broke, but Jax send Moloch enough pain to rear back a bit.

"Now we're getting somewhere," Jax replied.

Meanwhile, the others were fighting the mummified army.

"There's too many of them!" cried Kung Lao as he dodged a sword from of the soldiers. "We'll never be able to take them all down at this rate!"

"Keep going!" replied Sonya as she broke a shin from another. "The more we take down, the better our chances of winning this thing!"

Frost had just turned her head to fight the next soldier when she noticed Quan Chi creeping his way towards the exit. She narrowed her blue eyes at him.

"You're not getting away!" she cried out as she sprinted towards the sorcerer. Sub-Zero had heard his student say that. He turned out and watched her run towards Quan Chi.

"Frost, no!" Sub-Zero cried. He dodged out of the way of the flying weapons around him as he made his way towards where Frost was running. When he did, Quan Chi had noticed her.

"Fool," Quan Chi said. He brought both of his hands to his right side, then quickly shot it out. A yellowish-green shaped skull with large, black eyes shot out from his hands. Frost did not expect this and didn't have time to react. The skull went into her torso and stung her. It felt like a million bees stinging her all at once.

"AAH!" Frost cried out as she reared back. When the skull disappeared, she fell down to the ground unconscious.

Sub-Zero looked at his pupil for a second, then back up at Quan Chi. "You bastard," he muttered. He bent down a bit and quickly glided towards Quan Chi. Sub-Zero went in such high speed that Quan Chi didn't have time to react. With his fist, Sub-Zero gave Quan Chi a hard punch. It was enough to make him fly back. As the sorcerer flew back, the amulet fell out of his pocket and glided twenty feet away from him. Quan Chi got himself up, not realizing that the amulet was no longer in his possession. Sub-Zero ran over to him and the two began their battle. For a while, they exchanged punches, kicks, and blocks. Then, Quan Chi went down on to the ground and glided towards Sub-Zero. He quickly lifted his left leg, hitting Sub-Zero in the groin and sending him upwards. Sub-Zero flew upwards and back down head first. The landing was not hard enough to knock him out, but hard enough for him to see stars.

Between the pain in his head and the pain in his groin, Sub-Zero couldn't get himself up. Quan Chi saw his opportunity and took out his double broadswords and brought them to Sub-Zero's neck.

"Now, ice ninja," Quan-Chi said with a sneer. "You will join those in the Soulnado along with that little female version of you."

Meanwhile, Jax was still dodging Moloch's ball. "When will this guy stop?" Jax asked himself.

That's when he noticed something gold in the corner of his eye. Jax quickly turned around and noticed the amulet lying on the ground. He also noticed Frost down for the count, Quan-Chi holding two swords towards the weaken Sub- Zero's neck, and his friends surrounded by the mummified army.

"We did our best," said Kitana. "Fight with every last strength you have."

"That's right," said Bo' Rai Cho. "At least we would go down like the honorable warriors we are."

_I won't let that happen,_ Jax thought.

Jax suddenly sense Moloch close behind. Moloch swung his ball and once again, Jax dodged it.

"I didn't want to do this," Jax said taking out his machine gun. "But you asked for it!"

Jax pulled the trigger and shot the Oni demon as much as he could. For a second, Moloch was fine, but afterwards, he began to rear back and scream. Jax had almost run out of bullets when the demon finally went down dead.

"Nighty night, sucka," Jax said. He turned around and quickly picked up the amulet.

Quan Chi looked down at Sub-Zero. Sub-Zero narrowed his eyes at the sorcerer. "Go ahead, kill me, but you'll never win."

"You're right _and_ wrong," Quan Chi replied. "We will conquer the realms. But you are right about me going to kill you. DIE!"

Just before Quan Chi raised his swords, he suddenly heard the sounds of weapons behind dropped to the ground. He looked up and noticed the army facing one direction.

"What the..." Quan Chi muttered. He looked at where the army was looking. They were all looking at Jax, who was holding the amulet up.

"It's impossible!" the sorcerer cried touching the pouch where the amulet was before.

"That's where you're wrong," said Sub-Zero with a raspy voice. "It is possible."

Jax cocked his head towards Quan Chi. "Eliminate him."

The army turned towards Quan Chi and ran after him.

"No!" Quan Chi. "I'm you're master!"

"No, Quan Chi," Jax yelled out to him. "It is one who holds the amulet, so basically it can be anyone. All I have to say other than that is... that's what you get!"

The mortals watched as the dead army grabbed Quan Chi. He screamed with terror as his limbs were ripped off of him piece by piece and shredded him with no mercy. Once that was enough, Jax dropped the amulet on to the floor and stomped on it as hard as he could, shattering it into pieces.

With that impact, the army crumbled to the ground and the souls that were in each of the bodies floated out slowly.

All of the souls floated towards the outside except one. That soul lingered over to the young woman the fighters found before the fight. The soul went back into her body. The woman's eyes snapped open and she began coughing as air quickly filled her lungs.

"She's alive!" Sonya announced. Everyone ran over to her as Sub-Zero and Frost got themselves back up.

The woman looked at everyone slowly. "Wha… what happened?"

"We'll tell you everything once we're all outside," Jax replied. "What's your name?"

"Li Mei," she replied.

"Wait a minute," Kitana said. "If the Soulnado is still running, then why did the souls go out-"

Before she finished her question, the building began to rumble and small rocks began falling towards the ground.

"Time to go!" Jax cried carrying Li Mei in her arms. Sonya and Kung Lao helped Sub-Zero while Kitana and Johnny helped Frost out of the building. They began to make their way outside before the palace engulfed them.


	19. Chapter Eighteen - The Showdown - Part 2

The intensity of his fury ran through his blood as Kenshi raised his sword. He charged after the man who had manipulated him, the man who had taken the souls of his warrior king ancestors, and the man who had taken his vision away. The man was no other than Shang Tsung, the shape shifting sorcerer.

Shang Tsung charged after him as well, his own sword raised. When they were close enough to one another, they swung their swords at each other and they collided with one another. From there, they swung their weapons at each other again and again, both playing offense and defense.

After a few minutes of this, Shang Tsung did a sudden back flip and kicked under Kenshi's chin in the process. Kenshi flew back a bit and landed on his side. Shang Tsung did a couple of more back flips before standing back in his fighting stance.

Kenshi picked himself back up, his katana still in his right hand. Shang Tsung smirked as he watched the swordsman get back on his feet.

"You may have taken me down easily last time," said Kenshi. "But this time, it won't be so easy."

Shang smirked even more. "We'll see about that." At that, he put both of his hands out and a large fireball shot out straight at Kenshi. Kenshi immediately felt the immense heat coming towards him and he rolled forward going towards Shang and out of the way of the fireball.

As soon as Kenshi was a foot away, Shang brought his sword to the side and swung it sideways. Kenshi jumped back and the sword was only close enough to rip a small portion of his suit on his side.

Kenshi lifted his sword up to his face and once again, he and Shang Tsung exchanged weapon attacks at one another. It only resulted in their swords constantly colliding against each other.

Then, after what seemed like a while, their weapons clashed with such a forced that both lost grip of their swords at the same time. The weapons flew away from them and landed a few yards away.

Immediately, Shang Tsung threw a quick jab at Kenshi's jaw and connected with it. Kenshi's head flew back sideways, but then he managed to quickly recover and block the next incoming punch. Kenshi blocked a few more of Shang Tsung's punches before the sorcerer lifted his leg up to knee Kenshi in the stomach. Kenshi sensed it coming and immediately grabbed his leg. With one quick twist, Shang Tsung's body was lifted from the ground and turned 360 degrees before Kenshi let go to drop him on the ground. Shang Tsung landed hard on the ground, but managed to roll himself out of the way and got back on his feet before Kenshi executed another move.

Kenshi ran towards his adversary once again. Shang Tsung stood at his spot while awaiting for the swordsman's next attack. As soon as Kenshi jumped in the air and put one leg out to kick him, Shang quickly put his hand out towards him and immediately an eerie whistle from the wind was heard. Kenshi suddenly felt some of his strength suck out of him like a vacuum. Shang stepped aside and watched Kenshi land hard on his side and rolled back a couple of times. What had just happened stunned Kenshi for a few seconds. He shook his head, determined to not lose that easily, and slowly began getting himself up.

"What did you… do to me?" Kenshi asked feeling his head spin in circles.

Shang Tsung laughed before replying, "You should know by now that I infest souls. What I did was take a little part of your energy, weakening you and giving myself more strength. I would take all of it right now, but I'm really enjoying this little battle of ours."

Kenshi growled through clenched teeth as he got himself to his feet. More rage consumed him as his mind drifted back to the day his ancestors' souls were enslaved. He made a promise many years ago to free them and he would fight as long as he can to free them, even if it meant his own death and that his own soul would be enslaved by Shang Tsung.

With all the strength that was still left in him, Kenshi ran back over towards Shang Tsung and when he was close enough, he swung his right fist towards Shang's face. Shang Tsung blocked the move and immediately followed with an uppercut to Kenshi's chin, another swung to his face, an uppercut to his neck (knocking the wind out of Kenshi in the process) and ended it with a knee connected to his abdomen. Kenshi was just about to collapse to his knees, but then Shang put his hand out and another ball of fire emerged out of it. It hit Kenshi with an intense force that sent him flying back a few yards. When he landed on the concrete ground again on his side, the immense pain took over Kenshi's body and he found himself unable to get himself up as easily as he did before.

_He… he took me down,_ Kenshi thought to himself. _Perhaps I don't have what it takes to free my ancestors after all…_ He bowed his head down in shame.

Shang Tsung walked over to the fallen Kenshi and looked down at him. "Face it, swordsman, you are nothing but a fool if you think that you can take me down."

He lifted his foot up a bit and kicked Kenshi hard in the face causing him to turn on his other side. At this point, Kenshi didn't care if Shang Tsung beat him to a bloody pulp… his shame was that strong.

Shang Tsung continued on. "I will admit, you are quite a warrior for a blind man. Unfortunately, you are not strong enough to beat me... no one is." He gave another hard kick to Kenshi's stomach. Immediately, Kenshi coughed up some blood.

"Now, this battle shall end for that I have other things I must attend to." The sorcerer took out his hand and his eyes began to glow bright green. "First, I took your vision. Now I shall take your soul."

Immediately upon hearing that, Kenshi's mind suddenly began racing. All of the events that had occurred in his life came to him, mainly the more recent ones. And all of the people he's met came to him and he could hear their voices in his head.

General White's voice came first. "Are you sure you are up to it?" It was back when White had asked Kenshi if he was sure that he could take on the mission in Outworld and its highly possible risks.

Cyrax's robotic like came next. "It's for celebration time if the mission is successful." It was back when White had found a bottle of Heineken in Cyrax's back pack before he went through the portal to Outworld.

The enigma Ermac's voice followed, "As a blind swordsman, like yourself, you hold many surprises."

Next, he heard Jax. "Kenshi, you _are_ part of the team." He had said this to Kenshi hours before leaving Outworld.

Sonya's voice came soon after. "Good luck, Kenshi, and be safe." She had said this just before leaving for Outworld.

Then, he heard the sweet voice coming from none other than Alex. "You are an amazing swordsman."

_Alex..._ A bit of sadness came over him at first. He laid there on the concrete ground as Shang Tsung got ready to finish him off. Then, a thought came to him. _If I die, Shang Tsung will take my soul. When Alex finds out, she would hunt him down and seek vengeance._

For too long, he had been alone and it became worse when Shang Tsung took his vision. For ten years, he sought out the sorcerer to not only free his ancestors, but also seek revenge from the one who had left him blinded for life and for leaving him to die in the House of Pekara, his ancestors' resting place. Vengeance burned within him for so long that nothing else mattered to him, until the day he joined Special Forces and met Alex. Her kindness and concern towards him briefly took him away from his state of his needful vengeance. To him, it felt great to have the angry feeling off his shoulders for a while. It had come back to him when he came to Outworld, but when he thought about Alex during his mission, all of the anger and pain he's ever experienced seem to fade.

Now, as Shang Tsung got ready to take his soul, Kenshi found a new reason to defeat the sorcerer once and for all. _I will not let Alex go through what I've been through!_

He thought about the new telekinetic powers that the enigma Ermac had given him during his journey. _This was the reason why I was given these powers... they would help take him down._

Just a split second before his soul was sucked out of him, Kenshi quickly put his hand out and pointed it towards the sorcerer. A sudden force hit Shang Tsung and he found himself pushed back.

_What the..._ he thought. As the swordsman slowly got himself back to his feet, Shang became aghast by what he saw. Kenshi's hands and head were glowing in a blue aura as his telekinetic powers emerged out of him and was now being used against the sorcerer.

"Impossible..." Shang said under his breath.

Kenshi smirked upon hearing that. "It is possible. I'm a blind warrior; I'm supposed to be filled with many surprises. Now, here come a few more of them."

Shang Tsung felt himself being lifted in the air and smashed down to the ground a few times. Then, he was thrown back and forth around the palace ground, hitting all of the statues and walls around them. Then, Kenshi brought Shang crashing back right in front of him. Shang tried getting back up as he felt his head spinning in different directions.

The sorcerer became desperate at that point. He knew that the blind warrior could snap his neck with the powers that he had and Shang Tsung had to take him down immediately. When he turned his head to the left, he found that his straight sword was only an arm length away and Kenshi's was a few feet away.

"It's over, sorcerer," Kenshi said. "How does it feel to be beaten by a blind man?"

Shang Tsung looked up at him and growled. "It isn't over yet!" Then, he quickly reached his hand over and grabbed his sword. Immediately, Kenshi sensed Shang Tsung's movement and when he heard him pick up an object, Kenshi knew that he got access to his sword again. In high speed, Kenshi lifted his leg up and with all of his strength, he kicked Shang Tsung's wrist forcing him to let go of his sword. Then, Kenshi lifted his leg higher and followed it up by bending his knee back and kicked his heel into Shang Tsung's temple. The sudden pain forced Shang Tsung to go down on his knees.

Kenshi brought his hand to his side and the blue aura appearred on his hands and head again. His katana was lifted up from its place on the ground and floated back towards Kenshi who grabbed its handle upon reach. He walked over to the fallen sorcerer. Shang Tsung looked up at Kenshi, who stood over him, his sword in hand. The swordsman stood there for a moment… not moving, not talking, and even thinking of anything.

Then, without any mercy within him, Kenshi brought the edge of the sword to the concrete ground before quickly performing an uppercut with it. In the process, he left behind a long, deep wound in Shang's torso. Kenshi could feel the warm blood splattering on him, but he didn't care… he had finally given what the sorcerer deserved.

In a quick instant, green souls emerged from Shang Tsung's body as he screamed in agony from the pain he was feeling. Soon after, his lifeless body fell forward. Kenshi could sense the souls going in different directions, going where they can finally rest in peace.

Kenshi then felt a powerful energy within his katana and a large group of souls flying around him. 'My ancestors,' he thought. He lifted his sword and held it above his head and the souls around him returned to their resting place within the katana. When all were in, the energy disappeared.

For a moment, Kenshi stood there, the wind around him blowing lightly. Then, he put his sword, stained with some of Shang Tsung's blood, back into its scabbard behind him.

_He's finally dead,_ Kenshi thought. _All of my goals have finally been accomplished._

Then, he began to walk to away from the palace ground. Where he was going to go, he wasn't sure of. After five minutes of walking, he could feel an angry rumble beneath his feet. The palace behind him was collapsing.

\---

Sonya, Jax, and the rest of their allies made a run for it as the palace began to collapse. They headed towards the edge of the woods, away from the danger they will leave behind.

When they reached the woods, the palace was almost demolished into nothing but rubble, but that was not what they ended up watching. The souls from the Soulnado quickly made their way into different directions, going to their resting place to move on to their afterlives.

Sonya smiled at this. "They are free once again."

Then, one soul lingered over to the warriors. The soul was small at first like the rest of the souls. Then, it grew and formed into a human, a human that everyone immediately recognized.

Kitana stepped forward a couple of feet towards the soul. "Liu Kang..." she could only say.

Liu Kang smiled and nodded at each warrior standing before him. "I thank you, my friends. You have freed us from enslavement."

"But Shang Tsung-" Jax began to say.

"Do no worry about him," Liu Kang insisted. "Another mortal warrior eliminated him and put him out of his misery. The mortal warrior fought well and he possessed strong senses."

The last statement made Sonya leap inside. _Kenshi!_ she thought. He was still alive at this point now. She quickly looked around but he was nowhere to be seen.

"He is far now," Liu Kang continued looking at Sonya as though he knew what she was thinking. "Not sure where he is heading." He looked at everyone again, mainly Kitana and Kung Lao. "I must go on now. I will always be watching over you. Take care." With that, his human form became a small green orb again. Liu King joined the rest of the souls to go on with their afterlives.

Everyone was silent for a minute. The deadly alliance was no more, the sorcerers were dead, and the once-enslaved souls were free to go on.

Then, Kung Lao broke the silence. "Now what?" he asked.

Sonya immediately replied, "There's one more mission we must do...we have to find Agent Kenshi."


	20. Chapter Nineteen - The Red Dragon

The blind swordsman Kenshi walked around an empty area. He could feel the sand beneath his feet and the harsh winds blowing against his body. The tail of his red blindfold flapped hard against the wind sideways towards the left of him.

Kenshi slightly lifted his head up. He could feel the sun on his face coming from the east indicating that it's past dawn, at least in Outworld time.

Soon, he stopped in his tracks and he began to think about what had happen only a few hours ago. His bloody duel with the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung was long and hard, but in the end, it was worth it, even with waiting a whole decade.

_I've accomplished my goal,_ he thought. _I've avenged my ancestors and now I believe that I am the best swordsman there is._ But there was only one question left that lingered in his mind. _Now what?_

He was still in Outworld. With the portal destroyed, Kenshi had no other way of getting home. His mind became blank, not knowing what to do at the moment. Then, he let out a short sigh and continued walking.

About an hour later, Kenshi was still feeling the sand below his feet and the harsh wind blowing against him. But this time, the sun had shifted and the tale of his blindfold flew behind him.

Suddenly, Kenshi felt uneasiness inside of him. He stopped in his tracks and let his senses kick in. He could sense someone not too far from him just by the feel of goose bumps on his back.

_Someone's behind me,_ he thought.

"Who's there?" Kenshi demanded.

No reply.

Just because there was no reply, didn't mean that Kenshi was going to take his chances. After all, this was Outworld he was in. Once again, he slowly reached behind his back and lingered his fingers around the hilt of his katana.

"You know, for a blind man, you're pretty good at detecting those in your presence," said a very unfamiliar voice.

Kenshi turned his head towards the sound of the stranger's voice. "Who are you?" he demanded once again.

The stranger sneered. "Let's just say that I'm an assassin, and my job is to assassinate the blind swordsman named Kenshi."

"Do you work for Shang Tsung?" Kenshi asked. "Because if you do, I'm afraid that I've already eliminated him for good."

"Liar!" the stranger called out accusingly. "Now, let's get down to business. How would you like to die? Should I just cut your throat open right now to make it quick? Or should I just simply gut you open so that you die slowly and painfully?"

Kenshi took out his sword, which was still a bit stained with blood from his battle with Shang Tsung, and pointed it towards the stranger. "Wouldn't it be more honorable to fight first?"

The stranger sneered. "Fine… it'll be a nice warm up for my upcoming battle after I kill you. Just remember this as you die… know that you were killed by me, Mavado, member of the Red Dragon."

Kenshi only clenched his teeth in reply. The two charged towards each other. When Kenshi collided his weapon with Mavado's Kenshi immediately noticed two things. Not only was Mavado's weapon in an odd shape as though it was like a large hook, but also there were two of them.

He felt Mavado's weapons move back and aimed at him again, one towards his head, the other towards his ankles. Kenshi quickly ducked, then blocked the lower move with his sword. Mavado took this opportunity to take the back of his other hooksword and cracked it behind Kenshi's head. Kenshi fell forward, but then caught himself and rolled forward a couple of times. He got himself back up and turned himself towards his opponent. Mavado jabbed his hookswords at Kenshi, but Kenshi sensed it coming and immediately blocked him with his katana.

The two began to exchange moves with their weapons, both playing offense and defense at the same time. Sometimes, Mavado would come in with his weapons from different directions making Kenshi either duck or jump.

After a while, when they collided the weapons above their heads, Mavado immediately kicked Kenshi in the abdomen causing the swordsman to rear back a bit. Before Kenshi could recover from the move, he suddenly felt the hookswords implanted into his shoulders. The sudden pain almost made Kenshi scream, but he held it back by clenching his teeth and throwing his head back.

Mavado pulled him forward. He quickly took the weapons out of his shoulders, the blood spurting in different directions. Kenshi was about to lift his sword up again, ignoring the pain, when he felt the weapons impale him once again. This time, they were inside both sides of his ribcage. Kenshi clenched his teeth more and he winced.

Then, Mavado used the hooks, both still inside Kenshi, to lift him a foot off the ground. It was here that Kenshi couldn't deal with the immense pain that resulted from that and let out a short, agonizing scream. He then bended his head down a bit, hoping that it would make it look like that he was glaring into Mavado's face. As he did, his fingers slowly unraveled the hilt of his sword and the weapon fell into the sand.

Mavado leaned in a little closer to the swordsman and said his last words to him. "I'll see you in the Netherealm." With that Mavado lifted one leg and, with all of his strength, kicked him in the stomach. The force sent Kenshi flying backwards, the hookswords leaving his body. Kenshi could feel his blood spurting out of his fresh wounds as he landed hard into the sand. He rolled sideways in high speed and when he finally stopped, he was on his back, his right hand over his left wound.

Kenshi was still. All he heard was the sound of the wind and his breathing which pained him every time he inhaled. He could feel his own blood slowly exiting his wounds and some more of it inside of him along and the taste of it in his mouth. He was going to die in one of three ways. It was either going to be from loss of blood or the blood inside of him will take over his lungs and drown him.

Only a couple of hours ago, Kenshi had asked himself, "Now what?" concerning what there was left to do in his life. Now that he had accomplished his goals, he couldn't think of one thing that he would live for.

_There's nothing left for me,_ Kenshi thought. _I will proudly accept death._

It was then that Alex came to his mind and Kenshi gasped a bit in pain. He thought about all of the memories they shared back in Earthrealm. He smirked a bit as he heard her voice in his mind.

Perhaps, right now, she was here in Outworld looking for him, or she was back in Earthrealm with Sonya and Jax since there was no other way of getting to Outworld. Or perhaps, something had happened to her when he lost contact with Special Forces…

Kenshi frowned. He could feel the coldness of the bracelet on his left wrist. _Even if I get out of here now… I'll probably bleed out beforehand…_

Kenshi clutched his left fist as he turned his head towards the sky. _I'm sorry Alex..._

\---

Sonya Blade looked around in an empty space in the same area where she had her last battle with Kano. The winds were still harsh and the sands stung her body like a swarm of bees despite the mountains around her.

Approximately three hours ago, she contacted General White to let him know that they completed their mission in destroying the Deadly Alliance. With that out of the way and Cyrax safely back in Earthrealm, the only other mission left was to find Kenshi and go home. Then, during the contact, White had told her something she didn't expect him to say.

"Sonya, you and Jax have twenty-four hours Earth time to look for him," he had said.

"Why, General?" Sonya demanded. "I don't care if it takes forever; I'm keeping my promise to Alex."

"I know Sonya," said White. "But there are other missions here that must be taken care of and we need all the help we can. Plus Outworld is not much of a big world. If you can't find him, even if you, Jax, and the rest of your allies split up, he's most likely dead. Of course, if you find him, dead or alive, bring him back. This decision will be hard on Walker, I know, but hopefully she'll get through, especially with the baby and all."

Sonya sighed. Throughout this whole mission, she had hoped to find Kenshi alive, bring him home alive, and keep her promise to Alex. But with all the time that had passed, there was a chance that he could now be dead. Either way, Sonya was willing to find him.

She brought her radio up and only said, "Okay."

Sonya, Jax, and the rest of their allies made the decision to search for Kenshi. Everyone went solo except Sub-Zero and Frost, who went together, and Jax took Li Mei with him to bring her back to her home in the meantime. They agreed to meet in the same spot where Shang Tsung's Palace once stood in twenty-four hours unless contacted (Sonya and Jax gave everyone each a walkie talkie). Now with only twenty-one hours left, Sonya still had high hopes in finding the swordsman alive.

It was then that she heard footsteps not far behind her. 'Kenshi?' she thought with high hopes. She quickly whirled around and when she did, she saw a hook-like weapon right in front of her face.

Sonya was surprised, but quickly got her senses back in gear and dodged the weapon before she was impaled in the face with it. She took one of her Kali sticks out and quickly thrust it into her attacker's stomach as deeply as it would go. On contact, she heard a loud 'Oomph!' and the figure fell back, dropping their weapons. Sonya grabbed the weird-looking weapon and ran over to her attacker. Before the attacker got up, she impaled them in the back of the head and the figure fell forward dead.

"That's what you get for giving me a surprise attack!" she said. She then noticed the red dragon design on the back of the figure's black trench coat.

"A Red Dragon member," she muttered. She quickly ripped the weapon out of his head and turned him over. Sonya gasped as she recognized the figure.

"Mavado. This was the man who I fought in the illusion battle before I came to Outworld."

It was then that she noticed a similar weapon a few feet away from her. She walked over to it to take a look at it. Her blue eyes widened when she saw blood on the weapon.

_No..._ she thought in horror. She looked around the area. While she did that, she prayed that the blood did not belong to Kenshi.

She walked around to see any sign of, well, anything around where she was standing. It was then that in a far distance that she noticed a figure lying down in the sand. She ran over as fast as she could despite the winds slowing down her speed. It took her three minutes to get close enough to get a better look at who it was, and when she recognized the black leather uniform, the katana a few feet away, and the red blindfold around the figure's eyes, it was no doubt who it was.

"Kenshi!" Sonya cried out in horror. She ran over to him and went down on her knees. She took her left arm and slipped it over his shoulders. Her arm was immediately covered with blood coming from his shoulders. Sonya looked for any more wounds on him and gasped when she noticed two hook-like wounds in his ribcage.

"Kenshi, speak to me!" she called, her voice slightly raised. She pressed her left arm into his shoulder wounds in hopes to control the bleeding. When she did that, he winced a bit in pain. Sonya sighed with a bit of relief now knowing that he was still alive and awake for that matter.

Kenshi moved his head a little before speaking. "S… Sonya?" he said, his voice low and raspy.

"Hang on, Kenshi!" Sonya ordered. "You're going to be all right!" She picked up her walkie talkie and spoke into it. "Everyone! I found Kenshi and he's hurt! Meet back at the palace immediately."

There were a few 'copy that' before Sonya turned her attention back to Kenshi.

"Come on, we're going home-"

"Sonya," Kenshi said. "Just go."

Sonya was shocked to hear this from him. "Kenshi-"

"Please," Kenshi continued. "I... I killed Shang... freed my ancestors... my goals have been... accomplished. Please... there's nothing left for me now..."

"Don't you dare say that!" Sonya yelled. "You're coming home and you're going to live! Do this for Alex! She needs you!"

"Just go," Kenshi demanded. "Even if you try... to get me home… it'll probably be... too late... tell Alex... I… love her... and I'm sorry..."

It was then that Sonya remembered exactly why Alex didn't come with her and Jax on this journey to begin with. It occurred to her that, of course, Kenshi knew nothing about it.

Sonya looked down at him. "Kenshi, I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, but there's something I need to tell you. There is something left for you! You said it yourself, you love Alex, and she loves you! She's not the only one waiting for you back home."

Kenshi became confused by that. "What... what do you mean?" he asked.

"Kenshi... Alex is pregnant. You're going to be a father."

At that, Kenshi's jaw dropped a bit. _Me...a… father?_ he thought. Emotions filled him as it came to him that there was still more left for him to live for. He had great friends at the Specials Forces base, he had a woman he loved, and now there will be a child who will be his to care for. _Why did I decide to let myself die and leave all those who care about me behind?_ he thought feeling foolish. For the first time in so long, he felt tear brim his eyes underneath his blindfold, but he managed to keep them at bay.

"Get me... home..." Kenshi finally said.

"I will," Sonya promised. She quickly took some bandages from her backpack and dressed Kenshi's wounds. Then, she threw him over her shoulders and began making her way back to the palace.

"So," said Kenshi as she began walking. "Did you... find Cyrax?"

"Yes," Sonya replied. "He's safe back in Earthrealm. Alex never gave me much detail on what happened, but we'll find out soon enough."

"Yeah..." Kenshi muttered. Alex came to his mind again. He couldn't wait to hear her sweet voice again, have her in his presence, and to feel her warm, soft lips against his own. _Alex... I'm coming home,_ he thought.

"Keep talking to me Kenshi," Sonya continued. "I want to make sure that you're still alive."

"Trust me," Kenshi replied. "I'll make sure of that."


	21. Chapter Twenty - The Reunion

When Sonya finally made it to the fallen palace, Kenshi was still talking to her. _Thank goodness, he made it this far,_ she thought with relief.

Everyone was waiting for her including Raiden. Jax ran over to Sonya. "Is he-"

"I'm alive," Kenshi replied hearing Jax.

"But barely," Sonya added. "We have to get him out of here quickly."

It was then that she noticed Sub-Zero carrying Frost in his arms. She was slumped over a bit and not responding.

"What happened to her?" Sonya asked as she put Kenshi down on the ground with Jax's help.

Sub-Zero's grim face did not look at her. "It's a long story. I'll tell you when we settle on the Nethership."

Sonya only replied with a nod.

"We must get back to the rendezvous point," said Raiden. "It is there where I can transport all of you back home. There, my powers will be restored and I'll be able to heal Kenshi."

And so they did. Bo' Rai Cho and Li Mei left the group to go back to their Outworld homes, Kitana returned to her home Edenia, and everyone else returned to Earthrealm. Once on the Nethership, Raiden healed Kenshi's wounds and he was able to breathe again with no pain.

"He'll need to rest during the ride," Raiden suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement. After more than a month in Outworld, Kenshi was going to need it.

On the main dock, Sonya and Jax walked around a bit and gazed out at the sea. "We're home again," Jax said.

"Yeah," Sonya replied. "And I kept my promise to Alex."

Then, they both noticed Sub-Zero standing by the edge. He was looking out twards the sea and in his hands, he held what looked like a medallion. The two of them walked over to him. Sub-Zero felt their presence and turned to them.

"What happened with Frost?" Sonya asked with curiosity.

Sub-Zero sighed. "It's funny. You think that you can trust someone because you had worked closely with them, but that's not always true." He looked down at his medallion again. "This medallion is very powerful and only the grandmaster of the Lin Kuei can stand its immense power. Frost tried to take it. I guess she wanted all that power and become Grandmaster herself, but she lacked the ability to control it. It almost killed her, but luckily I managed to take it back before things got worse."

Jax frowned a bit. "What are you going to do with her?"

Sub-Zero shook his head. "I don't know. I'll have to take the time to think about that." Sonya and Jax nodded. They realized that Sub-Zero needed to be alone with his thoughts right now. From there, they continued walking along.

A couple of minutes later, they found Kung Lao meditating. They were going to leave him be, but then he spoke. "It's over. The souls are finally free."

Sonya nodded. "Yes, they are. Kung Lao, you're not mad about Kenshi getting to Shang Tsung first, are you?"

Kung Lao looked up at her with a small smile on his face. "I didn't get to accomplish my own vengeance, but with Shang Tsung now dead, it's easier to move on from it. As long as Liu Kang's soul is now in peace, I am at peace."

"Glad to hear that," said Jax with a smile. Kung Lao nodded. He closed his eyes once again and continued with his meditation.

Once again, Sonya and Jax continued their walk in silence. A few feet away, Johnny Cage was practicing his karate moves.

Jax stopped in his tracks. "Eh, you can take of this one. I'll go to Raiden."

Sonya laughed. "Okay." They went their separate ways, with Sonya walking towards Johnny and Jax towards Raiden. Jax reached Raiden and when he saw his face, he looked worrisome.

"Raiden?" Jax asked. "Is something wrong?"

"I am not sure," Raiden replied. "For now, there is no more threat of peril to Earthrealm. However, things could happen in a couple of years. Perhaps the Dragon King himself will awaken."

"The Dragon King?"

"Yes. The mummified army you fought once served the Dragon King. As we speak, there is an egg in Outworld waiting to be hatched. Once it is hatched, the Dragon King will awaken. With his immense power, who knows what he is capable of…"

"Whatever it is," Jax said. "You know who to turn to."

Raiden nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Johnny noticed Sonya walking over to him. He smiled at her. "Hey Sonya."

Sonya smiled back. "Hey Johnny. We kicked butt out there once again."

"Yeah, and I'm almost ready for more," Johnny replied.

For a moment, the two were silent. Starting to feel uncomfortable with it, Sonya spoke again. "What will you do when you get home?"

"I was thinking about quitting the movie I'm in the middle of doing," Johnny answered. "Then I could direct my own movie based around my recent adventure. What about you?"

Sonya shrugged. "I'll probably just go back to Special Forces base and go on other missions."

"Well," Johnny said. "How about we go have dinner together before I go back to Hollywood?"

Sonya smiled at that. She could feel herself turning a bit red in the process. "Sure… it's a date."

On the other side of the boat, Kenshi rested on top of the cot that was there. He listened to the sounds of the waves crashing against the ship. He smirked to himself. He was back on Earthrealm and it wouldn't be long before Alex would be in his presence again.

It was then that a green image appeared in his vision of darkness. "What the..." Kenshi muttered. He knew he wasn't dreaming because he was still able to hear the waves crashing clearly along with the voices on the other side of the ship.

The green shape formed into a female human. The woman smiled at him. "Hello Kenshi," she said.

A confused look appeared on Kenshi's face. Before he could speak, the woman spoke again. "I was one of the souls who formed the one called Ermac. You have also eliminated Shang Tsung and freed us. I speak for those who have been freed and we thank you for it."

"It's not a problem," Kenshi replied.

"Now, I have a gift for you," the woman continued. "I am one who grants wishes to those who help me when I am in need. I'm granting you the opportunity to make one wish. The thing is, the wish will only last forty-eight hours Earthrealm time."

Kenshi nodded, accepting the offer and its limits. He gave himself time to think about a wish, but there was one that lingered his mind and it was obvious that it was the one he wanted.

\---

**Special Forces Base**

Alex and Cyrax had just come out from a meeting concerning a previous mission both of them encountered with just a couple of days ago.

"What a meeting," said Cyrax sounding almost bored. "Too bad they didn't serve any beer or else it would've been more interesting

Alex laughed a little bit. "I don't think the Sergeants would've wanted anyone to get drunk."

"Rrriiigghhhttt," Cyrax replied. "So, what do you want to do now? We could go play some pool, or some video games, or some chess..."

It was then that General White came over to the two of them from the podium. "Good afternoon."

Alex smiled a little. "Good afternoon, sir."

"Listen," White continued. "I need to meet with the two you in my office right now."

"Are we in trouble?" Cyrax asked with some concern, even though he was pretty sure nothing happened recently.

"Cyrax, no one's in trouble."

"Oh… good."

"Then what is it about?" Alex asked.

"I need you both in my office," White said. He turned around and began walking. Alex and Cyrax followed him.

Alex began to have a bad feeling about this. _What is it all about?_ she asked herself. She hoped that it was something about another mission and not about the mission in Outworld because if it was, she believed that the news wasn't going to be good.

They reached White's office and opened the door. When the door was wide enough, Alex stopped in her tracks.

"Holy smokes!" Cyrax cried out.

Alex saw three familiar figures standing in the office. She saw Sonya in full General's uniform. _She must've got promoted! And that would be a_ big _promotion, too!_ she thought. Then, she turned to Jax who stood in his uniform. She noticed one of his metallic arms was missing. Then, she looked at the third person. He stood there, the red blindfold over his eyes and the katana strapped in its scabbard behind him. A smirk appeared on his face, probably because he was able to feel her presence.

"Kenshi!" she cried out as she went over to him. Kenshi turned his head towards her voice and lifted his arms, welcoming her into them. Alex quickly threw her arms around him and buried her face into his shoulders, the tears streaming down her face. Kenshi held her close as though he never wanted to let her go. Everyone else in the room watched with happinesover the couple who had finally reunited.

"It's a Kodak moment," said Cyrax. "If I was not a cyborg, I would cry tears of joy."

"Well," said White. "I think we should leave them be."

"Good idea," replied Sonya. "I have to get ready for my date with Johnny tonight."

"Oh jeez," said Jax rolling his eyes. The four left the room and White closed the door behind him.

Alex heard everyone leave the room and shut the door behind them. She felt Kenshi massage her back with one hand and stroked her long dark hair with the other. After a while of this, Kenshi finally spoke. "I love you."

Alex moved her head to face him, not expecting him to say something like that. A warm smile appeared on his face and more tears streaked down her cheeks. "I love you too."

She was about to kiss him when he placed a hand over her lips. "I have a surprise for you. I think it's something you'll really like."

"What is it?" Alex asked with curiosity.

"I, um, I first want you to take off my blindfold."

A confused look appeared on Alex's face. "Why?"

Kenshi grinned. "Just do it."

Alex nodded, although she still felt a little confused. "All right."

She slowly reached toward the edges of his blindfold and grabbed hold of the edges. Then, carefully, she pulled them up over his head.

"So why did-" Alex began to say... but then saw why he wanted her to take his blindfold off.

Kenshi's eyes were no longer just white. There was a pool of blue around his pupils. Alex looked into his pupils, thinking that they would be blue in them indicating his blindness, but that wasn't the case. They were completely black.

"Kenshi..."Alex managed to say. "You can see... but how?!"

He brought his hand up to touch her face. In the meantime, he wiped the tears from her face. "Someone I helped in Outworld granted me a wish and this was what I asked for. The thing is, it'll only last for forty-eight hours. Six hours have already past so I only have forty-two hours left to see."

Kenshi looked at Alex's face and took in every detail as he could. He stroked her long, straight dark brown hair. Her heart-shaped face contained her blue eyes, her thin nose, her full pink lips, and a nice pale complexion.

He looked into her eyes once again. "Alex, you're beautiful."

She smiled, showing off her straight, white teeth. They learned towards each other and shared a deep, passionate kiss. They let themselves go in a slow, rhythmic pace and their tongues danced with one another. As they kissed, Kenshi kept his eyes opened. He wanted to take in as much detail of the world around him while he had his vision.

After the long kiss, their lips parted each other and they looked into each other's eyes, never wanting the moment to end. Then, Alex could feel Kenshi's hand on her stomach. She looked down at his hand, then back up at him. "How did you-"

"Sonya told me," Kenshi replied with a smile. Alex smiled back in return. Then, at the same time, their smiles faded. Kenshi realized that they were thinking the same thing. He had the opportunity to see Alex, but never will he ever have the opportunity to see his child.

"Maybe one day," Alex said. "You will have another chance to see again and this time, you can see our child."

Kenshi nodded. "I don't have high hopes for that, but you never know what could happen." He then looked into her eyes again. "I may be living in darkness, but I know that my friends, you, and our child will always bring light to me."

Alex nodded with a small smile. They kissed one more time before making their way out of the office to enjoy the outside world before the darkness took over Kenshi's vision once again.


	22. Epilogue - The One Being

_One year later_

"Great dinner, Alex," said Cyrax in delight.

"Thank you," Alex replied.

The two of them, along with Kenshi, Jax, Sonya, and White sat around at the dinner table. Alex had invited her Special Forces friends for dinner at her and Kenshi's new apartment on the residential area of the base. In between Kenshi and Alex in a highchair was a small infant, only about a few months old.

"So is the baby giving you guys much trouble lately?" asked Jax.

Kenshi smirked. "Not today at least. Victoria must've known Cyrax was coming over."

"Because I'm not just a mean old ugly mechanical robot," Cyrax answered. "I'm all sweet and handsome with a lot of good tricks up my sleeves."

Cyrax's chest opened up revealing a stuffed doll. "Look at what Uncle Cyrax got you!"

Alex smiled as Victoria cooed at the toy in front of her. "I'm going to regret the day she starts calling you Uncle Cyrax."

Everyone laughed a bit as Cyrax set down the doll in front of Victoria for her to play with. Then they continued eating and having other conversations.

Kenshi slightly turned his head towards the child next to him as she held on to her new stuffed doll. Every day since the day she was born, he still found it hard to believe that she was his daughter. It was only a year ago when he had come to Special Forces where he met and fell in love with Agent Alex Walker... a year ago that he had went on his mission to Outworld while Alex and his unborn daughter waited on Earthrealm for him.

When Kenshi and Alex named their daughter, they chose Victoria for that it meant, 'warrior.' They both believe that someday she will become one. Perhaps she would become a swordswoman or a Special Forces Agent. Perhaps she would be part of the next generation of Raiden's mortals to protect Earthrealm from the forces of evil. There were endless possibilities of what she would become in the future and Kenshi hoped to be there when that time came.

Before Kenshi knew it, everyone was finished with their dinner. Alex noticed that his food on his plate was only half eaten.

"Lost your appetite?" she whispered.

Kenshi smirked as he heard her sweet, gentle voice. "No, I was just doing some thinking... about Victoria... just wondering what she'll be like in the future."

Alex smiled. "Before we know it, we'll know." She quickly kissed him before taking her plate towards the dishwasher.

Jax grinned at everyone. "So who's up for a game of poker?"

"No way!" cried Sonya. "Kenshi always wins that game."

"Yeah," said Cyrax. "And pool, and Scrabble, and chess, and Monopoly, and darts, and Ping Pong, and Go Fish, and about every video game you can name, especially that one game... what's it called... I think it's Street Fighter. Heck, he can even win in that game where you have to act out a TV show, a movie, and music!"

Kenshi showed off a cocky grin. "I guess I'm just too good."

"Well let's play poker any ways," Jax suggested. "Kenshi you're on my team!"

"No fair!" cried Cyrax.

Just before anyone got up, Kenshi immediately felt an eerie chill go up his spine. His senses could sense something from outside...something dark, something evil...

Something with a sinister force.

He stood up and faced where he could sense the disturbing chi. _What is going on?_ he thought.

Alex, who was holding Victoria in her arms, turned around to face Kenshi, but she didn't find him following her with the others. He stood there facing the window showing off the perfect blue sky and the bushes and trees on the green grass. She walked over to him. Kenshi, sensing Alex and their daughter next to him, turned his head towards them.

The others ended up noticing the couple no longer following them to the other room. Alex had walked over to Kenshi who stood there by the window. Each of them immediately realized why he hadn't followed them.

He had sensed something that wasn't right.

"Kenshi," said Alex a little nervously. "Are you okay?"

Kenshi slowly turned his body in front of her and slowly wrapped both arms around her and Victoria. At first, everyone was relieved, thinking that Kenshi was only daydreaming. That was, until he said the two words that would alter what was to come.

"Something's wrong."

As soon as he said those words, a thunderbolt landed in the room next to them, startling everyone and causing Victoria to cry a little bit. The familiar former Elder God appeared before them.

"Raiden!" cried Sonya. "Welcome back."

"Hello mortals," said Raiden.

"Something's happening, is it?" asked Jax with concern.

"I'm afraid so."

"So now we'll be going to Outworld and kick some butt again!" cried Cyrax.

"That indeed, but there is something important I must tell you," Raiden began to inform. "This is a new evil force… something that mankind has never faced before, one with a sinister force."

Kenshi's senses were right, what he sensed was a sinister force. "What kind of sinister force?" he asked.

"One more powerful than any other," Raiden answered. "He is known as the one being to most, but to some, he is called... the Dragon King."

At that, dark clouds began to cover the blue sky above them. Whatever was happening was now the beginning. And whatever was to come, Kenshi was going to help out in defeating his sinister force with his friends and lover, the ones who have given him light in his own darkness.

 

**The End**


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